OREANDA-NEWS. April 26, 2013. The Interstate Council on Antimonopoly Policy (ICAP) held the 38th session in Minsk, chaired by the Head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia), Igor Artemiev.

Attendees included representatives of antimonopoly bodies of the CIS member-states, the Eurasian Economic Commission, the CIS Executive Committee, the Office of the President of the Republic of Belarus, the Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Belarus, as well as “Promoting Competition in the CIS” Non-Commercial Partnership.

The Council discussed the issues of the most important interest for the antimonopoly bodies of the CIS states, on a number of which FAS was the key speaker.

For instance, the Council looked into the questions of using traditional “Soviet” signs for certain types of goods, FAS experience on improving internal management quality and obtaining ISO 9001:2008 certificate of international management quality standard, as well as the results of the efforts of the Working Group on pricing on the oil and oil products markets and the methods of their functioning, which was formed upon an initiative of FAS and Austria’s Federal Competition Authority and engages antimonopoly bodies of some CIS member-states and other countries.

Igor Artemiev also informed ICAP Council about the areas of developing national competition policy in Russia in 2012, particular creating the Government Commission on Competition and Developing Small and Medium Business, adopting the action plan (“Road Map”) on “Developing Completion and Improving the Antimonopoly Policy” and emphasized practical results of FAS efforts in 2012 and the major prospective objectives, particularly increasing enforcement efficiency based on the best world practices.

ICAP session also announced an international conference “Competition Day in Russia” on 9-12 September 2013 in Irkutsk, which will also include an ICAP session devoted to its 20th anniversary.

ICAP traditionally discussed the work of the Headquarters for Joint Investigations of Violations of the Antimonopoly Law of the CIS Member-States that held the 22nd session on 16th April 2013 in Minsk.

For instance, ICAP emphasized active efforts of the Headquarters for studying socially important markets, successful functioning of which directly affects well-being of CIS population, including the markets of oil and oil products, grain, medicines, etc.

Following the discussion of the problems of antimonopoly regulation of different markets, that are similar across the CIS courtiers, the Council developed common approaches to resolving them.