The CNMC remains ahead of the upcoming discussion with Vice President and Minister of Consumption Alberto Garzón scheduled for next Monday. The meeting with consumer groups and representatives of distribution companies aims to address strategies to curb the cost of essential foods within the shopping basket amid persistent inflation. (CNMC) Arguing that such price controls could have unintended consequences, the agency highlights the relevant legal framework and the need to protect competition. The core message is simple: price fixing between market players violates competition rules and cannot be justified by public authority involvement. (CNMC)
According to the CNMC, both the Law on the Protection of Competition and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union explicitly prohibit agreements or recommendations that fix prices or other terms that restrain or distort competition. The authority stresses that mandatory price coordination exercises by operators, even when supported or encouraged by public authorities, are not allowed. (CNMC)
Determining maximum prices among operators, even under public supervision, is forbidden because it constitutes a price agreement. The CNMC points to these regulations as a clear boundary that must not be crossed. The commission also emphasizes a duty to monitor, investigate, and sanction any breaches. It recommends that companies consider the potential effects of any public intervention on pricing before pursuing informal deals. (CNMC)
The CNMC notes that even an occasional agreement to fix prices can set a precedent and establish a price scale that, in the long run, tends to push prices higher, stifle innovation, reduce investment, and alter the market as a whole in a negative way. This is the agency’s central warning about the risks linked to any credible price-fixing arrangement. (CNMC)
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The CNMC also cautions that any move to compress price competition could hinder smaller operators and make it harder for them to compete in the current economic climate. Such measures could empower larger market players at the expense of others, leading to longer-term adverse effects on competition and, by extension, on consumers. (CNMC)
The commission explains that larger distributors, thanks to their greater financial strength, bargaining power, and diverse portfolios, might experience a loss in sales if ceilings are imposed. This scenario would not only affect smaller peers but could also tilt the competitive balance in favor of the few at the top. (CNMC)
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Smaller distributors facing the pressures of high production costs could vanish in a market that already strains competition. The CNMC stresses that public price regulation often carries negative consequences, and its medium to long-term effects deserve careful evaluation before any policy is adopted. (CNMC)
The commission reiterates that public regulation of prices must be weighed against its broader impact on competition, consumer welfare, and market dynamism before decisions are made. (CNMC)