Reform proposals in competition law emerge from a push to modify how financial client defense officers operate, with the PSOE proposing changes to Articles 36, 38, 39, 50, 52 and 63 and adding a new Article 50 duplicates. The intent is to extend the deadline for action and to clarify when the National Markets and Competition Commission CNMC may dictate and notify sanctions. The changes also aim to raise certain fines, establish a duty to cooperate with the agency, and introduce a new mechanism allowing firms to plead guilty to an illegal act in return for a reduced sanction, according to documents available to this newspaper.
The newly created measure sits under the banner of an operational procedure. Following similar steps at the European level and in neighboring countries, the Socialist Party argues through its communications that if companies, once an infringement procedure has begun, provide clear terms for participation, CNMC can reduce fines for both the company and its legal representatives. Prompt filings before factual statements can reduce the claim by as much as 15 percent, while filings later and before the procedure closes may yield reductions up to 10 percent. This reflects a structured incentive to cooperate early and disclose information the agency believes is material to the case.
Speaking before the House of Representatives’ Economic Affairs Committee, CNMC chairperson Cani Fernández described the measure as a key tool. The objective is to expedite infringement procedures so companies face a quicker path to resolution without exhausting resources in other investigations, and to permit guilty parties to acknowledge wrongdoing. The idea is to save time and redirect resources toward other investigations. An existing cooperation program would be extended, but the new plan would apply to a broader set of firms participating in a cartel or other anticompetitive conduct and to notification processes that begin investigations.