The Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia has urged policymakers to place competition at the centre of efforts to prevent corruption, as part of its assessment of Spain’s draft Organic Law on Public Integrity. The opinion, issued at the request of the Ministry of Finance, supports the overall initiative while highlighting areas where stronger competition safeguards could improve the effectiveness of the proposed framework.
The draft law aims to establish a comprehensive system to prevent, detect, and sanction fraud and corruption in the public sector, with the broader goal of strengthening institutional trust and protecting the public interest. The CNMC welcomes the initiative, noting that there is clear evidence that corruption undermines competition and economic efficiency, meaning that anti-corruption measures can also enhance how markets function.
In its assessment, the CNMC highlights that the draft legislation already incorporates several of its previous recommendations, particularly in the area of public procurement. Improvements in planning and design of tenders, greater digitalisation and centralisation of procurement data, and stronger justification requirements for decisions that restrict competition are seen as positive developments. The authority also supports efforts to professionalise procurement processes and expand the use of data analytics tools, as well as increased transparency around companies banned from participating in public contracts.
At the same time, the CNMC stresses that competition risks, especially collusion in public tenders, should be more explicitly addressed in the legal framework. It calls for greater awareness and training among public officials on competition issues, as well as safeguards to ensure that transparency measures do not unintentionally facilitate coordination between bidders or expose sensitive commercial information.
The authority also points to the need for balanced rules on subcontracting and improved access conditions for smaller firms, warning that certain procurement practices could inadvertently limit participation. It emphasises the importance of effective compliance programmes for large contractors, including adherence to competition law, and suggests strengthening coordination between public registries to better detect and track infringements.
