OREANDA-NEWS. September 06, 2010. Andrey Tsyganov, Deputy Head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia), presented to the Presidium of the Government of the Russian Federation a report "On the State of Competition in the Russian Federation", where he highlighted the main obstacles for advancing competition in some sectors of the economy and outlined the main priorities in the work of the Antimonopoly Service, reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

In 2009 FAS initiated in total 9664 antimonopoly cases and imposed 2592 fines, given those revoked by courts of law and the superior executive official. The number of initiated cases and decisions recognizing the facts of violations has increased.

Analyzing national and interregional trends, Deputy Head of FAS Russia pointed out that in 2009 FAS for the first time included in the report the findings of its analysis of certain regional markets that have significant importance or create precedents, such as:

- markets of services for grain storage;

- markets for purchasing and processing milk;

- markets of services of waste products burial;

- markets of liquefied hydrocarbon gas used as gas-engine fuel;

- markets of paid educational services;

- markets of services for supplying aviation fuel in airports;

- markets of services for eliminating oil and oil products spillovers in seas.

Among the main medium-term objectives of the Federal Antimonopoly Service for implementing competition policy in the Russian Federation, Andrey Tsyganov emphasized the following: creating conditions for developing competition in the fields of activities of economic entities that are not natural monopolies; preventing and constraining anticompetitive intervention of the authorities and local self-government bodies in market performance; ensuring equal access to the goods (works, services) of natural monopolies; and developing competition on the markets of potentially competitive activities of natural monopolies.

Presenting the report, Deputy Head of FAS Russia informed the Presidium of the Government of RF that on 1st September 2010 was launched the official Internet - site of the Russian Federation for publishing information about tenders and auctions - torgi.gov.ru.

At the moment, mandatory publication is required of information about tenders and auctions for transferring the rights for federal property. However, already in 2011 this site will become a single resource for publishing information about all tenders and auctions for transferring the rights for state and municipal property, plots of land, sub-soil, natural resources, etc.

The next step to ensure equal access of businesses to state and municipal property and property rights will be organization of relevant tenders according to unified procedures (regulations) through unified national electronic trading sites.

In conclusion, Andrey Tsyganov expressed his confidence that antimonopoly regulation and competition would be enhanced through the “third antimonopoly package” developed by FAS Russia, which introduces amendments to No.135-FZ Federal Law “On Protection of Competition” and some other legislative acts of the Russian Federation as well as the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Violations.