The National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) has issued a decisive report on the Draft Organic Law of Public Integrity that redefines the rules of the game for infrastructure managers in the Canary Islands. The body led by Cani Fernández argues that competition is the most effective preventive tool against corruption, urging the Ministry of Finance to shield the processes of awarding public services. For the port system of the islands, where terminal management and bunkering depend on long-term concessions, this position implies a shift towards much more aggressive oversight of tenders.
The CNMC proposes to strictly limit and control subcontracting in assignments to own resources, a practice that often generates opacity in large port works and services. The regulator warns that corruption drastically reduces economic efficiency and distorts the functioning of local markets. In this sense, the report demands that the specifications expressly incorporate channels for anonymous reporting and compel bidders to submit independent offer declarations, a measure designed to break possible cartels in strategic sectors such as logistics or fuel supply.
The regulator’s focus extends to the interoperability of the Public Sector Contracts Platform, demanding greater transparency that does not, however, facilitate the exchange of sensitive information between competitors. The CNMC advocates for promoting competition even in smaller contracts, those that often escape the radar of large audits and that are fundamental for the fabric of SMEs operating at the ports of Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The proposal seeks to avoid the exclusionary effects of electronic contracting through specific support measures for small and medium-sized Canary Islands companies.
The reinforcement of prohibitions on contracting for companies that have violated competition regulations is another key element of the report. The regulator requests that these sanctions have an immediate and coordinated reflection in the Bidders’ Register and the Commercial Registry. For the Port Authorities of the archipelago, this implies an added responsibility in the evaluation phase of offers, having to cross-check data to prevent companies with a history of collusion from accessing new public domain concessions.
The CNMC has offered its direct collaboration to advise on the risk analysis of public service management, ensuring that the future Public Integrity Agency respects the autonomy of the supervisor. The ultimate goal is to elevate institutional trust in a sector, the port sector, which acts as the economic engine of the islands and that will now have to adapt to integrity standards that incorporate the defense of competition as a non-negotiable ethical value. Key points of the report for the port sector: Bidders must certify the absence of prior agreements, control of subcontracting, and restrict the use of own resources to prevent capital leaks, mandatory connection between public registers to ban offenders. The CNMC imposes the defense of competition as a shield against fraud in concessions.
