The V Annual Conference entitled "Antitrust Regulation in Russia" was held by NPP for Promotion of Competition and Vedomosti newspaper and supported by the Federal Antimonopoly Service on October 25, 2013 in Moscow and October 28, 2013 in Brussels. The key specialists of the Firm’s Antimonopoly Practice, including the Partner and the Head of the Practice Natalia Korosteleva, Counsel Anna Numerova and Senior Associates Maria Kobanenko and Evgeny Bolshakov spoke at the event. As in the past, the Firm has partnered the conference.
Since its inception the conference has developed and become a key platform for meetings of the lead antitrust regulation experts. This year the conference addressed issues related to the FAS of Russia’s activities to ensure the commodity markets would operate efficiently, to prevent, restrict and terminate monopolistic activity and unfair competition, as well as plans to improve the antitrust legislation and its implementation practice in order to protect and develop competition in Russia. Certain modules addressed the promotion of competition in various economic sectors, as well as antitrust regulation, intellectual property protection, and the antitrust policy to protect consumer rights.
The conference opened with a plenary session involving Igor Artemiev, the Head of the FAS of Russia. Anna Numerova, the Firm’s Counsel. As a member of the General Council of NCP for the Promotion of Competition, Anna informed everybody of the results of recent research on the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia’s activities. The research performed by the Russian non-commercial partnership was preceded by the global competition review earlier published by Global Competition Review, a leading international professional periodical on the antitrust regulation.
Natalia Korosteleva, Partner of the Firm’s Antimonopoly Practice, presented a report at a module entitled “2013 Main Events and Their Impact on Antitrust Regulation” where the attendees discussed the new concept of Russia’s antitrust regulation, Russia’s joining the OECD, the competition roadmap, as well as many other issues.
Evgeny Bolshakov, Senior Associate of the Firm’s Antimonopoly Practice, spoke at a session entitled “Review of the Judicial Practice Related to Implementation of the Antitrust Law Provisions”. In his report Evgeny addressed the action and the concurrent behavior as demonstrated by the Russian and European practices.
Maria Kobanenko, Senior Associate of the Firm’s Antimonopoly Practice, attended a summary discussion of the “State Purchasing and Contract System” session covering the topical issues of the current public procurement legislation, as well as the key innovations introduced by the new law “On Contract System in Procurement of Goods, Works and Services to Supply the State and Municipal Needs” and the impact on the state procurement practice.
The Attorneys of the Firm also attended a visiting conference held in Brussels on October 28. Thus, Anna Numerova moderated at a session entitled “Antitrust Law and EU Practice Impact on the Russian Business”. The lead Russian and international experts reviewed the European practice of application of the main antitrust regulatory institutions, as well as their applicability to Russia. The session was attended by practicing experts of the leading law firms based in Brussels, the EU antitrust law center.
