AELI fights unfair competition by AENOR Laboratorio

Barcelona, Spain

Dear all,

As you know the complex economic situation in Spain continues on the same line and will remain still for one or more years or even will tend to get worse. Within this background the Association has maintained the number of partners and has been also focusing on the main activities.

To complain the main objective of the Spanish Association in the defence of competition our actions where focus to have contacts with the Ministries of Economy, Finance and Industry to show to the new government the plight of unfair competition the industry is enduring, generated by some Technological Centres or other public subsidized organizations and requesting legislation applies today.

We have worked on two specific lines:

First against Aenor Laboratory, in which we have urged the Government to enforce the report of the National Competition Commission, government agency which ensures free competition in Spain issued in July 2010 a “REPORT ON THE CERTIFICATION OF QUALITY AND SAFETY” in which it recommends Public Administrations to introduce the legislative necessary regulatory changes allowing inter alias:

"To separate legal, accounting and functional activities of standardization and certification of the Spanish Association for Standardisation and Certification (AENOR)

Second to apply the law 14/2011 which regulates the Technology Centers:

Having received as an answer on one hand that there is no budget to develop the law 14/2011 and respect to Aenor that there is by the Department concerned to fix it is willing to do it, but having spent six months without any concreteness, in the next Assembly on 18 agreed to initiate proceedings in the European Union seeking their protection and demand that the Government of Spain to apply the actual law.

In addition we are working on updating the statutes of the Association. Our goal is to sign the new constitution at a Special Assembly to be convened in September in Barcelona.

Best regards,

Jordi Oliver-Rodés
President of AELI