“In the past ten years we were able to develop a European-level law in Russia”

On 21 June 2016, the Head of Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia), Igor Artemiev, took part in an extended session of the General Council of the “Business Russia” National NGO.

The Head of the Antimonopoly Service thanked the President of “Business Russia”, Alexei Repin, and members of the General Council for active involvement in discussions of the “forth antimonopoly package” and invited members of “Business Russia” to be actively engaged in the work of FAS Expert Councils.

The Head of FAS emphasized that in the near future the regulator does not plan to submit significant draft laws for the consideration of the Government of the Russian Federation. “We certainly can, by habit, call a draft law the “fifth antimonopoly package”, but in the near future there will be rather pinpoint changes to the antimonopoly law”, said the Head of FAS.

He emphasized that the antimonopoly body currently has all necessary tools to counter unfair actions by the monopolies.

“Thanks to joint efforts, in the past decade we were able to form a European-level law in Russia. With assigning the powers of the tariff regulator, we can analyze the business life of the largest companies and state-run corporations. Now we see all corporate costs and together we work on the cost-reduction programmes”, said Igor Artemiev.

Among the law-making priorities Igor Artemiev mentioned drafting the norms that stimulate companies to introduce antimonopoly compliance and continue working on the norms that establish antimonopoly immunity for small and medium business.

Then the Head of FAS answered questions asked by representatives of “Business Russia”. They were interested in antimonopoly immunity and state support to small and medium business, holding violators liable for anticompetitive agreements, procurement by large companies from small and medium business, reducing state participation in the field of services to the population, and parallel import.