Spanish market unity law shows limited aggregate impact
A Banco de España paper analyzes Spain's Law 20/2013 on market unity, which allows economic operators to challenge unjustified regulatory barriers. The study, based on over 1,000 claims from 2014-2024, finds limited aggregate impact on productivity.
Navigating Spain's regulatory maze
Spain's administrative structure, characterized by high decentralization and extensive regulatory output, often leads to fragmentation and increased business costs.
The European Commission's Single Market Scoreboard and the OECD's Product Market Regulation indicator both place Spain behind major European peers in terms of regulatory burden.
Law 20/2013 aims to counter this by establishing core regulatory principles, prohibiting discrimination, and ensuring proportionality in administrative actions.
It allows economic agents to file special administrative claims with the Secretariat for Market Unity (SECUM) against regulations violating these principles.
If admitted, the claim is forwarded to the competent administration, which responds within 10 days, followed by a SECUM report and resolution within 15 days.
Further recourse to the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC) or directly to court is also possible, providing a multi-layered protection mechanism for businesses facing regulatory hurdles.
Local governments face most challenges
Between 2014 and 2024, the SECUM received 1,053 claims or information requests, consolidating to 995 unique cases after accounting for duplications.
The number of cases peaked in 2016 with 141 claims, then declined following Constitutional Court rulings that annulled some articles of Law 20/2013, before gradually rising again to 95 cases in 2024.
Claims are concentrated in six activities, primarily trade and professional services, followed by education, information and communications, and electricity supply.
Local administrations are the most frequent target, accounting for 46 percent of claims, with their share increasing over time.
Regional governments (CCAA) follow with 41 percent, and the General State Administration (AGE) with 13 percent.
Recent years have seen a pronounced growth in claims related to rapidly evolving markets like renewable energy and telecommunications, indicating a shift in regulatory conflict areas.
High hopes, modest outcomes
The study reveals a significant gap between the law's ambitious goals and its practical impact.
While the mechanisms offer a channel for businesses to challenge regulatory overreach, the limited success rate, especially against local administrations, suggests systemic issues persist.
Despite some positive effects on productivity in smaller sectors, the absence of significant aggregate improvements indicates the law has yet to fundamentally reshape Spain's regulatory landscape.