FAS director names possible cartelization factors for BRIC

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MOSCOW, September 2 (Itar-Tass) - Director of the Russian Federal
Antimonopoly Service (FAS) Igor Artemyev said the struggle against cartels
should be the priority direction in the efforts to step up international
cooperation in the field of competition policy.

Artemyev said so at the international conference on competition under
the aegis of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) in Kazan, the FAS
press service reported.
In his report, the FAS director named the factors that determine a
high probability of the cartelization of the BRIC economies: the high
level of the concentration of production, stable ties between
corporations, underdevelopment of market institutions, considerable
interference by the state in the economy, and the attractiveness of the
national markets for trans-national corporations.
He elaborated on the experience of the Russian anti-monopoly agency in
the struggle against cartels. Specifically, he informed his foreign
colleagues about the improvements in the Russian antimonopoly law.
On August 23, 2009, the so-called second antimonopoly package of laws
came into effect in Russia. According to the new legislation, the FAS and
its bodies can recognize companies with a market share of less than 35
percent as dominating.
The law specifies the program of exemption from responsibility. The
first company which reports its participation in cartel collusion will not
be punished. "The maximum penalty for cartel collusion is seven years in
jail," Artemyev said.
The new legislation gives the FAS the right to challenge in courts the
acts by regional legislative bodies that envision unjustified preferences.
Another novelty is the disqualification of government and municipal
officials for up to three years, as administrative penalty.
"This means that the official who violates the law on competition
three times in two years, will be deprived of the right to occupy his
post," Artemyev explained.
The international conference on competition under the aegis of BRIC
was organized by the FAS on August 31-September 1-2, together with
anti-trust agencies of Brazil, India and China, with the support of the
Russian government.
The conference is the first such event in the field of competition in
the format of BRIC. It is devoted to the most pressing issues of the
development of competition in rapidly growing economies.
In a recent crackdown on monopolies, the FAS department in Russia's
Altai Territory accused Gazpromneft-Altai and Rosneft-Altainefteprodukt of
price fixing.
The FAS said so in a statement following an analysis of the increase
in prices at petrol stations run by these companies from April 3 to May
30, 2009.
Aside from Gazpromneft and Rosneft, the FAS suspects another 7 local
market operators of price fixing, but it has been unable to produce enough
evidence to take the case to court.
Gazpromneft-Altai and Rosneft-Altainefteprodukt were fined for price
fixing in the period from April through June back in 2008. The total sum
of the fines imposed on the largest operators on the retail market of
petroleum products in the Altai region exceeded five million roubles.
The FAS director earlier warned oil companies that his agency regarded
the increase in petrol prices on the Russian market unjustified, and
threatened tough measures.
"We regard the increase in prices on the market inadequate, and in
this connection we're warning the oil companies that if price hikes
continue, we might initiate the third series of cases against them under
the new, tougher anti-monopoly legislation," Artemyev said.
The FAS press service said FAS bodies had opened 4,168 cases over
violations of the anti-monopoly legislation in the first half of 2009.
As before, more than half of all cases were opened against government
bodies.
In the first half of 2009, the FAS opened 2,213 cases over violation
of the advertising legislation, up 459 from the same period last year,
PRIME-TASS said.


.Many issues of Slovenia' participation in South Stream not settled.


LJUBLJANA, September 2 (Itar-Tass) - Slovenian Prime Minister Borut
Pahor said many issues are yet to be settled regarding his country's
participation in the South Stream project.
Pahor said so after a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir
Putin, the Slovenian Press Agency said.
The prime ministers agreed to study these problems. They might meet
after many such problems have been settled.
The Slovenian prime minister reminded that in accordance with the
requirements set by the country's parliament, Slovenia must own at least
50 percent of shares in the new Russian-Slovenian enterprise, which is
expected to be set up with the view of implementing the South Stream
project.
The agency noted that the Slovenian premier believes it is necessary
to "expedite the talks" over the signing of the agreement on the
construction of the stretch of the South Stream pipeline through Slovenia,
in order to try to resolve these open issued in September.
Last week, Pahor stated in Ljubljana that Slovenia and Russia were
close to conlcuding a pipeline construction agreement within the South
Stream project.
-0-myz