OREANDA-NEWS. June 15, 2009. The decision was made at the conference/seminar of the regional FAS Russia's offices of the North-West Federal District, which took place in the Pskov region, reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

The even covered the major issues of the antimonopoly policy in Russia, in particular:

- administrative and judicial practice of antimonopoly enforcement;

- the practice of imposing turnover fines and the problems of exercising Articles 14.31-14.33 of the Code on Administrative Violations;

- the second antimonopoly package.

Opening the conference, Pavel Subbotin, Deputy Head of FAS Russia, pointed out that development of competition and antimonopoly legislation and effective, high-quality cartel control are strategic goals of the Federal Antimonopoly Service.

The conference got together the Heads and officers from nine regional offices of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) in the North-West Federal District and the Central Office of FAS Russia. Invited experts included the Chief Federal Inspector in the Pskov Region from the Office of the Presidential Envoy in the North-West Federal District and a judge of the Pskov Regional Arbitration Court.

Modern antimonopoly policy in EU and Russia, especially in the period of global financial crisis, is geared towards resolving the problems related to development of competition and cartel control. A recent Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation, that approved the programme of competition development in Russia, is a perfect example of such policy.

The participants showed a keen interest in the presentation made by Alexander Kinev, the Head of the FAS Russia's Anti-Cartel Department, who discussed the main focus areas and problems of cartel control. The participants emphasized that collusions are a form of fraudulent activities and constitute a serious public threat. Cartels are always fraught with grave consequences for the economy and consumers: unjustified increase of prices, lack of innovations and market stagnation. Those adverse consequences are especially pronounced in the period of crisis.

In course of the conference/seminar, the Pskov Regional Authority, in the person of the Pskov Governor Andrey Turchak, and the Federal Antimonopoly Service, in the person of Pavel Subbotin, Deputy Head of FAS Russia, signed a cooperation agreement. The agreement makes provisions for the efforts, aimed at protecting competition and creating conditions for effective performance of the goods markets, implementing the programme of developing the Pskov region, as well as for compliance with the antimonopoly legislation, the laws on state and municipal procurement of the goods, works and services, and the laws on natural monopolies.