ANDREY TSYGANOV: UPON ADOPTING NATIONAL PLAN, STATE COMPETITION POLICY IS FULLY SHAPED

Deputy Head of FAS discussed improvements in the antimonopoly law, implementation of compliance and integration of the National Plan and the National Projects at an international conference in Minsk

On 13 November 2019, Deputy Head of FAS Andrey Tsyganov took part in the International Conference in Minsk (Belarus) – “Developing competition on sectoral markets: theoretical and practical aspects”. He shared Russian experience in competition development, speaking at the plenary session on the “Main directions for developing competition in Belarus and the world”.

Andrey Tsyganov informed that the basis of competition policy in the Russian Federation is 2018-2020 National Competition Development Plan and the Road Map for developing competition in sectors of the economy.

“After adopting these two documents, the state competition policy in Russia is shaped. FAS also undertakes ongoing efforts to improve the antimonopoly law”, explained Deputy Head of FAS.

He described the draft laws submitted to the State Duma - on antimonopoly compliance and executing orders of the antimonopoly body, and the “fifth antimonopoly package” aimed at adjusting antimonopoly regulation in line with the challenges of the digital economy, as well as a draft law on forced licensing of the results of intellectual activity.

“Russia will be able to manufacture vital and essential drugs for the population inside the country without the right-holders’ consent if for some reasons these right-holders refuse to supply them to Russian market”, clarified Deputy Head of FAS.

Talking further about competition advancement in Russia, the speaker reported that Russian regions have been actively involved in the competition development efforts – 100% regions approved the key competition development targets and made amendments to the regulations on executive bodies, Road Maps for developing competition across regions are being mainstreamed.

Andrey Tsyganov highlighted the outcomes of pro-competitive policy in Russia in 2018. Antimonopoly violations by the authorities decreased by 14%, the public procurement share of small and medium business reached 29.7% (the target by 2020 is 31%), the share of procurement by particular types of legal entities from small and medium business – 12.1% (the target by 2020 is 18%).

“We see the first results of implementing compliance procedures, the mechanisms of warnings and admonitions regarding the authorities and officials.  In the past year the number of warnings issued by FAS to potential violators of the antimonopoly law exceeded the opened and investigated cases. It means that FAS is getting increasingly more a body of preventative control. Over 80% of FAS warnings are executed within the deadline”, emphasized Deputy Head of FAS.

Andrey Tsyganov also informed about integrating the National Competition Development Plan and the National Projects, endorsed by the President, in Russia.

Heunderlined that “the National Plan and the National Projects have a common goal on economic development and sustainable growth and cannot be efficiently fulfilled separately from each other. Because any measure from a national project –construction of a day-care centre, stadium, hospital – starts and ends with FAS control. The result of our efforts was the request from the Government to draft a new National Competition Development Plan for 2021-2025 that we intend to submit to the President next year”.

Deputy Head of FAS specially focused on developing competition on financial markets and success stories in this field. To execute the National Plan and the Road Map for competition development on financial markets, FAS formed a Working Group on developing competition on the market of financial services, comprising representatives of legislative and executive branches and the Bank of Russia. The Working Group has 7 sectoral Working Sub-Groups from representatives of financial associations.

He drew attention to the specifics of antimonopoly regulation of financial markets in the Russian Federation: co-regulation with the Bank of Russia.

“FAS-drafted acts in the financial sphere are passed in coordination with the Bank of Russia. Investigating cases against financial entities and reviewing decisions of FAS regional Offices, FAS Commissions comprises representatives of the Bank of Russia. FAS and the Bank of Russia have an Agreement on Cooperation and the Procedure for electronic communication flow, that provides for the Bank of Russia giving information about performance of credit organizations” said Andrey Tsyganov.

In the part of the practice of preventing violations and stimulating fair, high-quality competition on the market of financial services, Deputy Head of FAS mentioned the institution of “joint letters” from FAS and the Bank of Russia. So far, letters are drafted that using information about direct or indirect state participation in authorized capital to advertise financial services and activities; recognizing actions of credit organization for attracting monetary funds of physical persons to recurrent deposit accounts with further deterioration of their consumer qualities as acts of unfair competition; about disclosing information on the costs of payment services when using payment terminals.

Andrey Tsyganov emphasized that “now these letters are advisory – “if you do so, FAS is going to come to you”. And it works”.

Chief representative of the International Financial Corporation (IFC) in Belarus, Olga Scherbina; First Deputy Minister for Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade of Belarus, Ivan Vezhnovets; Chair of Latvia’s Competition Council, Abrama Skydrite; Head of the “Centre for Studying Competition Policy and the Economy” Laboratory   of Siberian Institute of Management – a branch of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Irina Knyazeva; Judge of the Court of the Eurasian Economic Union, Alexander Fyedortsov; Head of “Viorica Carare & Partners” Law Offices, a member of the Eurasian Economic Association, Viorica Carare; and a senior officer of Merger Department II, the Antimonopoly Bureau of the State Administration for Market Regulation, the People’s Republic of China, Ru Kong took part in the event. The Conference was opened by Belarus Prime-Minister Sergey Rumas and Belarus Minister for Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade, Vladimir Koltovich.