FAS RUSSIA USES ADVANCED FORMS OF INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN ITS WORK

A joint seminar of the FAS Russia and the OECD Regional Competition Center was held

Deputy Head of the Department for International Economic Cooperation of the FAS Russia Tatiana Oinvid shared the experience of the Russian competition authority in the framework of the Interstate Council on Antimonopoly Policy (ICAP) and the Headquarters for joint investigations of violations of antimonopoly laws. She also spoke about the activities of the FAS Russia within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union, during the formation of which considerable attention was paid to competition policy issues.

In her report, the speaker paid special attention to the institutional system for implementing competition policy within the EAEU, the implementation of law enforcement activities by the Eurasian Economic Commission and national Antimonopoly authorities of the Union member States.

“The Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union has established advanced forms of international cooperation between the Antimonopoly authorities of the EAEU member States and the Eurasian Economic Commission. It included instructions to conduct certain procedural actions, informing about investigations that affect the interests of other member States of the Union. At the same time, it is necessary to note the significant contribution of the ICAP to the formation of these instruments of international cooperation in law enforcement, which are reflected in the international Treaty on the establishment of the Eurasian Economic Union,” Tatiana Oinvid said.

The speaker also focused on the bilateral cooperation of the FAS Russia, as an important area of international cooperation of the Antimonopoly authority, which makes it possible to improve the effectiveness of law enforcement activities.

"To date, the contract portfolio of the Russian Antimonopoly Agency includes more than 50 documents of various levels that determine the possibility of cooperation with foreign competition agencies. At the same time, the geography of cooperation has expanded so much that it covers not only the nearest neighbors in the West and East, and even touch other continents. In the “coin box” of the Russian Antimonopoly authority, there are bilateral documents on cooperation with the Antimonopoly authorities of Brazil, Mexico, and Ecuador,” the speaker added.

Tatiana Oinvid noted that the goal of the FAS Russia over the past 10 years is to conclude so-called “new level agreements”, which include provisions defining the possibility of cooperation in law enforcement. The first such agreements were signed by the FAS Russia, including with the competition authorities of Austria, Hungary, and Mexico.

An important element of the “new level agreements” is the obligation of the parties to ensure the confidentiality of information that has become known to them in the course of joint activities within the framework of the agreement.

“To date, the FAS Russia has the necessary tools for international cooperation in law enforcement with a large number of countries, as well as the potential for its expansion, which is becoming increasingly relevant in the modern conditions of globalization and digitalization of the economy,” Tatiana Oinvid said in conclusion of her speech.

Anastasia Dokukina, Deputy Head of the Division of the Department for International Economic Cooperation, told about the experience of the FAS Russia in reviewing global transactions.

“We cooperate with foreign antimonopoly regulators to synchronize decision-making and avoid the adoption of asymmetric and contradictory regulations imposed on merger parties in different countries. Cooperation helps us understand the nature of global remedies, apply them to our national competition problems, and save our resources,” Anastasia Dokukina said.

The speaker gave examples of cooperation between the FAS Russia and foreign competition agencies when considering global mergers. These include a blocked deal between Siemens and Alstom.

“The draft regulation developed by the FAS Russia, as well as possible further steps to monitor its implementation, were developed taking into account the results of consultations held with foreign Antimonopoly authorities, especially taking into account the fact that the markets affected by the transaction coincided in many jurisdictions,” she said.

Anastasia Dokukina said that one of the priority areas of activity of competition agencies is countering  cross-border cartels. She noted the difficulties in dealing with cases of cross-border cartels - insufficient experience, lack of resources, lack of common principles and rules at the international level governing the interaction of Antimonopoly authorities in the investigation of cross-border cartels.

“With the support of dozens of countries and the UNCTAD Secretariat, the Resolution of the 8th UN Conference on Competition (October 19-23, 2020) decided that the fight against cross - border cartels will be one of the priority areas of UNCTAD's work for the next 5 years, and a corresponding working group will be created,” the FAS representative concluded.

Also during the joint seminar, a speaker from Italy, Alessandra Tonazzi, spoke about international cooperation in Europe: within the ECN and beyond. In turn, Heidi Sada, a participant from Mexico, spoke about best practices for formal and informal enforcement cooperation.