OREANDA-NEWS. December 17, 2010. FAS Russia’s delegation led by the Head of FAS Russia Igor Artemyev visited Vienna (Austria), under the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding between FAS Russia and the Austrian Federal Competition Authority on competition policy. The visit was organized with support of the Austria-Russia Friendship Society, reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

FAS Russia had top-level negotiations with the Head of the Austrian Federal Competition Authority, Mr. Theodor Tanner.

In the recent years cooperation between Russia and Austria in the field of competition policy has been gaining momentum and has reached a new level, when the countries regularly exchange information about cooperation with foreign competition authorities and international organizations involved in the issues of competition, and share experience of antimonopoly investigations. The Heads of FAS Russia and the Austrian Federal Competition Authority met annually to discuss further avenues to strengthen bilateral cooperation.

In course of the negotiations the parties have arrived to the conclusion that a new bilateral Agreement in the field of competition policy is necessary and timely. The Agreement shall determine new areas of interaction between the two countries to enable effective implementation of competition policy and enforcement in Russia and Austria.

Taking into account considerable number of similar problems in competition policy in Russia, Austria and some other European countries, particularly, in the oil sector, as well as mutual interest in eliminating antimonopoly violations, the parties agreed to discuss possibility of forming the joint Working Group by the competition authorities of Russia and Austria to investigate pricing on the markets of oil and oil products.

This visit marks a new stage in development of Russia-Austria bilateral cooperation in competition policy, which will encourage closer relations between the two countries, strengthen the position of Russia in global competition community and increase economic stability in Russia and Austria.