OREANDA-NEWS. April 03, 2014. The II All-Russian Research-to-Practice Conference on “Antimonopoly Activities and Competition Protection in the Russian Federation: Economic Content and Problems of Public Regulation” took place at Penza State University.

Attendees included representatives of the Central FAS Office: the Head of FAS Department for Control over the Authorities, Vladimir Mishelovin; the Head of the Litigation Unit of FAS Legal Department, Daria Ognevskaya; and their colleagues from FAS regional Offices: the Head of Morodvia OFAS, Yulia Popkova; and Deputy Head of Saratov OFAS, Lyudmila Borisova.

The event was organized by Penza OFAS Russia, Penza State University, the Government of the Penza region, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Penza region, “Kuznetsky” Bank” OJSC, with active involvement of the Business Ombudsman in the Penza Region.

On behalf of the Government of the Penza region the welcoming address to the conference participants was delivered by Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Penza region, Dmitrly Semyonov; and Deputy Minister of the Penza Region for Economics, Alexander Belozertsev. They emphasized efficient work of the antimonopoly body in the region and a significant increase of the number of petitions to Penza OFAS Russia from legal entities and physical persons, associated, first of all, with an improved level of legal competence of the population.

The Head of FAS Department for Control over the Authorities, Vladimir Mishelovin, discussed implementation of the Competition Development Standards in the constituent territories of the Russian Federation, under the framework of the Road Map for “Developing Competition and Improving the Antimonopoly Policy”.

According to Mr. Mishelovin, the Standard will encourage establishing a transparent system of the work of regional authorities, creating incentives and conditions for developing and protecting small and medium companies, eliminating administrative barriers, and achieving the key target indicators that characterize development of competition on the markets of the constituent territories of the Russian Federation.

Reports of the Head of Morodvia OFAS, Yulia Popkova, and Deputy Head of Saratov OFAS, Lyudmila Borisova, focused on development of fair competition and legal instruments for advancing competition.

Conference participants also discussed some practical issues of antimonopoly regulation and enforcement.

On the second day, the venue took place at Lermontov Penza Regional Library. A discussion about “Small Business in the Region: Formal and Informal Obstacles” was organized as part of Business Forum of the Penza Region.