torpedoed the liberalization of merchandise transport

We wrote in Xataka Just a few hours ago Ryanair had on his head The most expensive fine (more than 107 million euros) that had imposed a company in our country. The figure almost tripled the second classified, dump, which He was also sanctioned by the government in relation to its hand luggage policy.

Now, it is possible that the list made by Facua Have to update. Because the Supreme has confirmed the penalty of 50 million euros that the National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) imposed Renfe for torpedoing the liberalization of merchandise transport.

The figure, they say in The confidentialhas been confirmed by the magistrates and leave the possibility of increasing the sanction by 15 million euros in the hands of the National Court. Therefore, the fine could reach up to 65 million euros.

A fine and two payments

According to the Supreme Court, the CNMC acted correctly when it imposed a sanction of 49.9 million euros to Renfe accusing it of “incurring a collusion infraction by participating in a market distribution strategy that hindered competition in the railway transport of goods.”

That punishment came in 2017. Then a sanction of 49.9 million euros was imposed on Renfe Operadora and 15.13 million euros to Renfe merchandise that should be paid separately. In addition, a sanction of 10 million euros also imposed on the Deutsche Bahn group.

According to the CNMC, Renfe and Deutsche Bahn, the first and second market operator, signed in 2008 an agreement that distorted the liberalization of merchandise transport in Spain “reducing the competitive pressure between them and consolidating the existing situation prior to liberalization.”

With these agreements, “the public entity agreed to more beneficial conditions with the Deutsche Bahn group exclusively. Among them, the offer of traction services in a generalized way or the absence of penalties in the event that Grupo Deutsche Bahn annulled railway traction services. Renfe submitted the rest of the operators to more burdensome conditions, denying their requests for traction services for regular traffic services.”

The same is what the Association of Private Railway Companies (AEFP) argued, who promoted demand At first, when they understood from the private sector they were receiving discriminatory treatment and less beneficial than that of Deutsche Bahn.

Until now, the National Court has issued two sentences in which it ratifies the fines. In the second of them it made it clear that a violation of the principle was not being incurred non bis in idem. That is, Renfe was not sanctioning twice for the same fact.

Given these setbacks, Deutsche Bahn imposed a appeal that has resulted in the Supreme Court. The same did Renfe, who also imposed cassation resources that should be valued by the Supreme Court and that in 2022 began to receive setbacks from the High Court.

On this last occasionaccording to it The confidentialthe National Court did not correctly value the arguments of the plaintiffs and did not motivate why he rejected his allegations. Therefore, as regards Renfe, he has confirmed the sanction of 49.9 million euros but sends the second part of the fine, the 15.13 million euros, back to the National Court to value it again.

Photo | Nelson M. Silva

In Xataka | In his most fateful summer, Renfe’s ambitious bet for the Avril trains has begun as one would expect: regular