Productive interaction between Russian and Italian competition authorities culminated in signing a Memorandum on Cooperation

On 27 September 2016, the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) and Italy’s Competition Authority signed a newMemorandum on Cooperation. The document is signed by the Head of FAS Igor Artemiev and the Head of Italy’s Competition Authority, Giovanni Pitruzzella.

Igor Artemiev emphasized productive cooperation between the two agencies, particular, under the format of the International Working Group on pharmaceuticals, co-chaired by Russian and Italian competition authorities.

The Head of FAS raised an issue of joint anti-cartel efforts at the international level: “Russia has criminal liability for participation in cartels – up to 7 years imprisonment, the US – up to ten years, while cartels are not prohibited at the international level. There are long-felt needs to adopt an international anti-cartel convention. The issue should be put on the agenda for the UN, UNCTAD and ICM.”

Giovanni Pitruzzella outlined the priorities Italy’s Competition Authority: “Competition and innovations as the basis for economic growth is in the centre of our attention. We must protect our consumers from growth of prices and clear up the way for innovative products”.

The parties discussed possibilities for joint investigations on the priority socially-important markets, for instance, the markets of food products, pharmaceuticals and Internet-services. The Head of FAS talked about the case against Google, investigated by Russian competition authority that generated an interest from the colleagues representing antimonopoly bodies of foreign countries.

The Head of Italy’s Competition Authority proposed to engage the staff of Russian and Italian universities in joint work. In his turn, Igor Artemiev invited the colleagues to take part in an international research-to-practice conference on competition, which will be in Moscow at the beginning of December 2016. “We need a view of the future that scientists can give us”, pointed out Igor Artemiev.