Spain: Reform to Professional Associations necessary, says CNMC

Spain’s National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) has insisted on the need to reform the regulations for professional associations in Spain. The regulatory agency has expressed on several occasions the need for professional services and colleges to function efficiently and eliminate unnecessary restrictions on professional activity, due to the “harmful” economic effects they cause in various markets.

International economic institutions (EU, IMF, OECD) have long demanded that the draft law on colleges and professional services be approved in Spain. This norm, according to the CNMC, should ensure a regime of access and exercise of professional services that is respectful of competition and efficient economic regulation.

With this in mind, and until the reform of the professional associations is approved, the CNMC recommends regulatory caution, that is, starting from a general regime of free access and that any obstacle to access or exercise of professional services should be the exception.

Likewise, it considers that a norm with the status of a law should only be included if it can justify the restriction is necessary, proportionate and non-discriminatory, as principles of efficient economic regulation.

Full Content: El Economista

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