OREANDA-NEWS. July 23, 2013. At a Round Table on the conditions and methods of international cooperation in competition cases, Deputy Head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) Anatoly Golomolzin and Natalie Harsdorf from Austria’s competitive authority made a report on the efforts of the Joint Working Group for studying pricing issues on the oil and oil markets and methods of its functioning, formed in 2011 upon an initiative of Russia’s and Austria’s competition authorities.

Natalie Harsdorf paid considerable attention to establishing electronic platform on exchanging information about statistical data, the results of market monitoring, decisions on cases on violations competition on the markets of oil and oil products, She emphasized that the platform is formed to strengthen international cooperation, simplify information exchange and understand competition under the framework of several jurisdictions.

Anatoly Golomolzin pointed out that antimonopoly authorities of different countries use similar methods of market analysis and the antimonopoly enforcement practice. Oil products markets have many similar structural features: vertically integrated oil companies, collective dominance of large players and impact of global markets upon national markets.

Deputy Head of FAS drew attention to the importance of continued monitoring of stock and prices on the wholesale and retail markets of oil products: “To suppress violations on the markets of oil and oil products, in 2008-2011 Russia carried out several investigations on the facts of abusing dominance by fixing monopolistically high prices, creating discriminatory pricing conditions, etc. Upon the results of the investigations FAS imposed fines for over 500 million euro that are already collected and transferred to the budget. Also oil companies were instructed to take measures towards developing competition, in particular, transparent pricing mechanisms, including trading sufficient amount of oil products through exchange”.

Similar issues are also on the agenda of G20. Relevant instructions were given by IOSCO (an organization of financial regulators from different countries across the world), members of which are authorized to control the markets of derivative financial instruments. On the basis of its multi-year work IOSCO formulated 11 recommendations regarding global pricing agencies. In particular, it is necessary to minimize selective reporting on prices and the volume of transactions, submit up-to-date market information and create transparent procedures for market price indices. It was proposed that if global pricing agencies do not make the required changes within 18 months (from 2012), IOSCO should establish the necessary requirements legislatively.

At the end of his report, Anatoly Golomolzin focused on the importance of coordinating efforts by the antimonopoly authorities as well as financial sector institutions: “These questions are very important for absolutely all countries – small and large, oil exporters and importers. UNCTAD is the platform where all of them are represented equally”.

Summing up, Anatoly Golomolzin and Natalie Harsdorf invited other countries to join the electronic platform within the framework of the Working Group to coordinate efforts towards developing competition on the markets of oil and oil products.

The 13th session of UNCTAD Inter-government Group of Experts on competition law and policy, which organized the Round Table, proposed the problems to be discussed at the 14th session. Such problems include usefulness of competition policy for consumers, communication strategies of competition authorities as the instrument for enhancing efficiency and informal interaction between competition authorities to resolve special issues. FAS intends to take active part in the 14th sessions giving the key presentations on the proposed problems.