The International Event «The Russian Competition Week» (Veliky Novgorod, September 19-21, 2017)

 

The International Event «The Russian Competition Week» took place in Veliky Novgorod on September 19-21, 2017. The agenda of the Russian Competition Week included sessions of International Working Groups on research of competition issues in the ICT sector, in the pharmaceutical sector, as well as on global food value chains. Within the framework of the Russian Competition Week, the International Round Table on Combating Cartels was organized, at which participants discussed how to combat agreements restricting competition, as well as conducted investigation of hypothetic cartel case in an interesting game format. Traditionally, a key moment of the Russian Competition Week’s agenda was the Plenary Session the main topic of which was “Competition Policy in the Digital Era”.

 

Press releases:

Andrey Tsyganov had a working meeting with a Commissioner of Korea antimonopoly authority

Timophey Nizhegorodtsev presented Russian experience on reducing medicinal drug prices

The 47th session of the Interstate Council on Antimonopoly Policy of the CIS Member-States (ICAP) in Veliky Novgorod

BRICS food products market were discussed at the “Competition Week in Russia”

Artak Shaboyan summed up the results of the 47th session of the Interstate Council on Antimonopoly Policy

Representatives of foreign competition authorities exchanged information abut the specifics of national regulation of drug prices

Cartel game

FAS and Norway competition authority are strengthening cooperation

Igor Artemiev: the antimonopoly body shall play one of the most important roles in the future

Participants of the Russian Competition Week emphasized the importance of reacting to the challenges of digital economy

FAS and UNCTAD are devising the procedure for work of the Discussion Group on countering restrictive business practices of transnational corporations

FAS representatives and antimonopoly experts played an exercise on appealing a hypothetical decision of OFAS

FAS and Iran National Competition Council agreed to actively exchange experiences

BRICS Steering Committee on Antimonopoly Policy approved creating Working Groups on IT and automotive markets

Digital economy has united not only the world around us but also the antimonopoly community

The Headquarters on Joint Investigations discussed the most pressing issues of developing competition

Workshop on the Competition Development Standard in Veliky Novgorod

 

PLENARY SESSION “Competition Policy in the Digital Era”

See materials:

Competition Policy in the Digital Era (T. Moreira)

Law on Implementation of General Policies of Principle (44) of the constitution (S. Reza)

Recent Developments in Legislation Concerning Digital Questions (T. Thanner)

 

9^th Session of the International Working Group on Research of Competition Issues in the ICT Sector

Under the modern conditions of dynamically developing markets in the digital economy it is essential to consider the current convergence processes. In particular, convergence between telephony, data transfer, TV- and radio-broadcasting, OTT-services. In these conditions, on the one hand, the government policy should be consistent and built up on the new basic principles, such as the principle of technological neutrality or the principle of network neutrality.  On the other hand, the government policy should be flexible - the basic principles should be developed in line with the procedures of coordinating common understanding of the essence and directions of developing new markets with use of new technologies.

Moderator:

• Anatoly Golomolzin,  Deputy Head of the FAS Russia

Speakers:

• Elena Zaeva, Head of Department for Regulation of Telecommunications and Information Technology of the FAS Russia
• Recep Gündüz, Expert of the Turkish Competition Authority
• Theodor Thanner, Director General of the Austrian Federal Competition Authority
• Shri S. L. Bunker, Member of the Competition Commission of India
• Lars Sørgard, Head of the Norway Competition Authority
• Alexey Ivanov, Director of Skolkovo-HSE Institute for Law and Development
• Pierre Horna, Legal Affairs Officer, UNCTAD Competition Law and Policy and Consumer Protection Branch
• Ioannis Lianos, Professor of Global Competition Law and Public Policy at University College of London
• Yongama Njisane, Head of International Relations of the Competition Commission of South Africa
• Manuk Mikayelyan, Head of the Department, State Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition of Armenia
• Fabio Babey, Associate Professor at Zürich University

 See materials:

Competition Issues in the ICT Sector (S. Bunker)

Competition Law in the Digital Economy (E. Zaeva)

Competitive Assessment of Digital Markets (T. Thanner)

Cross-border collusion of computers (P. Horna)

Global Digital Value Chains and Competition Law (I. Lianos)

Net Neutrality - Antitrust challenges (F. Babey)

Concept Note

Agenda

List of Participants

11^th Meeting of the Working Group on Research of Competition Issues on Pharmaceutical Markets

One of the most important and socially acute problems of the modern pharmaceutical market is the problem of medical products pricing.

In order to gain full control of pricing, it is necessary for antimonopoly regulators to solve existing problems. One of the first steps is to conduct an analysis of world prices for medicines. This analysis can be conducted both within national jurisdictions and at the international level by drawing up a price base for medicines in different countries and their further comparison within the framework of joint international work of regulatory bodies.

Such an analysis can become a prerequisite for a more extensive comparison of drug pricing procedures in different jurisdictions, which will later help in organization of global discussions between Competition Authorities and heads of international pharmaceutical companies. In addition, many antimonopoly regulators have repeatedly emphasized the importance of analyzing the world market for medicines and the need to initiate and organize meetings at the level of CEOs of transnational pharmaceutical companies to discuss the following unfair practices: overstating prices for certain positions, bribery to doctors, health professionals and government officials aimed at creating preferences in the market, selling overdue drugs, creating artificial monopolies, etc.

Moderator:

• Andrey Kashevarov, Deputy Head of the FAS Russia

Speakers:

• Timofey Nizhegorodtsev, Head of Department for Control over Social Sphere and Trade of the FAS Russia
• Renato Ferrandi, Head of the Department, Italian Competition Authority
• Theodor Thanner, Director General of the Austrian Federal Competition Authority
• Sang Lin - Deputy Director, General Bureau of anti-monopoly and anti-unfair competition enforcement of the State Administration for Industry & Commerce
• Hardin Ratshisusu, Deputy Head of the Competition Commission of South Africa
• S.L. Bunker, Member of Competition Commission of India
• Cristiane Alkmin Junqueira Schmidt, Commissioner, Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Brazil)
• Pedro Caro de Sousa, Lawyer in Competition Division of OECD
• Kjell Jostein Sunnevåg,Director for External Relations of the Norwegian Competition Authority
• Alexey Ivanov, Director, HSE - SKOLKOVO Institute for law and development
• Manuk Mikayelyan, Head of Department, State Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition of Armenia
• Fabio Babey, Associate Professor in Zurich University

See materials:

Anti-unfair Competition Regulation in Pharmaceutical Field (S. Lin)

Competition Law and Pharmaceutical Sector (S. Bunker)

Competition Law Challenges in the Pharmaceutical Sector - The Swiss View (F. Babey)

Description of 11th Meeting

Excessive Pricing in the Pharma Sector (P. Caro de Sousa)

Expensive Drugs Price Reduction (T. Nizhegorodtsev)

General competition issues in parallel import of drugs (M. Mikayelyan)

Information about the WG on Pharmaceuticals

Information On Reducing Drug Prices

List of Participants (Pharma WG)

Pharmaceutival Sector in Brazil (C. Schmidt)

Price Formation in the South African Pharmaceutical Market (H. Ratshisusu)

Prices in the Pharmaceutical Sector (R. Ferrandi)

Program 11th Meeting

Sector inquiry in the health care market (T. Thanner)

 

International Working Group on Global Food Value Chains

The meeting of the International Working Group on Food Value Chains was devoted to discussion of competition issues on seed markets, incl. in BRICS countries.

Participants of the meeting discussed the key challenges and tendencies of antitrust regulation on seed markets, inter alia, in course of the Concept of Global Value Chains and stressed necessity of changing methodological approaches to consideration of global mergers on seed market. Moreover, on course of the meeting, a draft Report on Competition Issues on Seed Markets in BRICS was presented which is currently open for comments and suggestion from all the stakeholders.

Moderators:

• Andrey Tsyganov,Deputy Head of the FAS Russia;
• Alexey Ivanov, Director of Institute for Law and Development HSE-Skolkovo

Speakers:

• Anna Mirochinenko, Head of the Department for Control over Agroindustrial Complex, the FAS Russia
• Ioannis Lianos, Professor, Faculty of Law, University College of London
• Alexey Ivanov, Director of Institute for Law and Development HSE-Skolkovo

See materials:

Draft Report on Seed Market in BRICS

Seed Market in BRICS Countries– Competition Issues (A. Mirochinenko)

Agenda

 

International Roundtable “Cartels and Algorithms”

Moderators:

• Andrey Tsarikovskiy, Stats–Secretary - Deputy Head of the FAS Russia
• Vasiliy Rudomino, Chairman of the Board of the Non-commercial Partnership “Support of Competition Development in CIS Countries”

Speakers:

• Andrey Tenishev, Head of the Anti-Cartel Department of the FAS Russia
• Theodor Thanner, Director General of the Austrian Federal Competition Authority
• Pierre Horna, Legal Affairs Officer of the UNCTAD
• Lars Sørgard, Director general, Norwegian Competition Authority

Investigation of hypothetical case:

Members of the group “Defendant Company No.1”:

• German Zakharov, Of Council of Law Firm “ALRUD”
• Mukhamed Khamukov, Deputy Head of the Anti-Cartel Department of the FAS Russia
• Fabio  Babey, Associated Professor of the Zurich University
• Kjell Jostein Sunnevåg, Director External Relations, Norwegian Competition Authority
• Sung-Keun Kim, Expert of the Competition and Consumer Policies Branch of the UNCTAD
• Recep Gündüz, Competition Expert, Turkish Competition Commission
• Aldash Aitzhanov, President of the JCS  «Security and Development Center of competition policy», Kazakhstan
• Yulia Kupriyanchik, Deputy Head of the Division for International Cooperation of the Department for International Economic Cooperation of the FAS Russia

Members of the group “Defendant Company No.2”:

• Anton Subbot, Lawyer, Partner “Baker & McKenzie”
• Dmitry Artyushenko, Deputy Head of the Anti-Cartel Department of the FAS Russia
• Pedro Sousa, Lawyer, Competition Bureau, OECD
• Veljko Milutinović, Member of the Council, Commission for Protection of Competition, Serbia
• Irina Knyazeva, Professor of Management Department of the Siberian Institute of Management - Russian Presidential Academy
• Anastasia Dokukina, Leading expert of the International Projects Division of the Department for International Economic Cooperation of the FAS Russia

Members of the group “Competition Authority”:

• Evgeniya Rakhmanina, Head of Competition Practice for Russia & CIS at Linklaters Moscow
• Hardin Ratshisusu, Deputy Commissioner, Competition Commission of the South Africa
• Pierre Horna, Legal Affairs Officer of the UNCTAD
• Cristiane Alkmin Junqueira Schmidt, Commissioner, Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE)
• Alexey Sushkevich, Director of the Department for Antitrust Regulation, Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC)
• Zeynep Şengören Özcan, Competition Expert, Turkish Competition Commission
• Anna Atanasian, Deputy Head of the Division for International Communications of the Department for International Economic Cooperation of the FAS Russia

Members of the group “Commission”:

• Andrey Tsarikovskiy, Stats–Secretary - Deputy Head of the FAS Russia
• Vasiliy Rudomino, Chairman of the Board of the Non-commercial Partnership “Support of Competition Development in CIS Countries”
• Andrey Tenishev, Head of the Anti-Cartel Department of the FAS Russia
• Theodor Thanner, Director General of the Austrian Federal Competition Authority
• Lars Sørgard, Director general, Norwegian Competition Authority
• Anna  Pozdnyakova, Deputy Head – Head of the Division for International Communications of the Department for International Economic Cooperation of the FAS Russia

See materials:

Agenda of the Roundtable

Case description

International Experience in Fighting Cartels (P. Horna)

Software and algorithms as instruments for creating cartels (A. Tenishev)

Informant practice Norway (L. Sorgard)