FAS IS ELECTED AS CO-CHAIR OF THE CARTEL WORKING GROUP OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION NETWORK

An important structural change in ICN configuration occurred at the ICN Conference in Cartagena (Columbia)

Other co-chairs of the Federal Antimonopoly Service are the competition authorities of Brazil and France.

For a long time FAS used to be a co-chair of Sub-Group II of the Cartel Working Group of the International Competition Network (ICN). During that period FAS has fulfilled multiple cartel-combating ideas at ICN that include, in particular devising the Guidelines on anti-cartel regulation in public procurement in 2015, which is adopted by all ICN representatives for further practice. FAS plans to focus now on the priorities of countering digital cartels.

Stats-Secretary, Deputy Head of FAS Andrey Tsarikovskiy commented: “Increasing the level of FAS presence at ICN confirms productive international efforts of the Antimonopoly Service at ICN and is a high estimate of FAS efforts”.

FAS chairmanship will allow it to be directly involved in shaping the agenda of the actions of the Working Group and its Sub-Groups and to promote Russian anti-cartel initiatives on the sidelines of such large international organization as ICN.

Head of FAS Anti-Cartel Department Andrey Tenishev, pointed out: “Such initiatives include the need to strengthen international anti-cartel collaboration by formalizing common mechanisms and procedures in a multilateral framework document, which can be FAS-drafted Anti-Cartel Convention”.

Russian competition authority also sees a prospective idea to advance the rational of enhancing the role of civil society against cartels, and FAS participation in an international project of France’s competition authority on “Countering cartels in the digital economy”.