EURASIAN ANTitrust FORUM 2023

Optimization of State Participation in the Economy is one of the important directions of competition development in the CIS and Eurasian Economic Union. Is it timely, given the geopolitical situation, to reduce state participation and the limits of this reduction? What measures to denationalize the economy and create a level playing field for all market players are the most effective in different countries? What role is assigned to antimonopoly authorities in the process of denationalization of the economy? The tasks of de-monopolization as well as improvement of competition law and modern trends in competition protection will be discussed by the heads of antimonopoly regulators of Eurasian countries, experts, and businessmen

Key issues:

- Modern trends of competition protection
- State support for entrepreneurship
- Demonopolization
- Yellow Pages Rules as an instrument of reducing the state in the economy
- Problems of asset transfer in a competitive environment
- Optimization of the list of activities for the quasi-public sector
- Impact of antitrust regulation on the investment climate

Plenary session. Speakers' presentations

Consideration of disputes on violation of antitrust laws is difficult for courts of all instances and jurisdictions. The difficulty is the need for the judges to examine and evaluate the validity of economic documents (the results of the analysis of the state of competition, the definition of monopolistically high (low) price, economic calculations submitted by a market participant, etc.). The problems are also related to the preparation by the subjects of the market of the evidentiary basis, confirming the absence of violation of the legislation. The judicial corps and practicing experts in the field of antitrust regulation permanently think about ways to ensure the validity of court decisions in antitrust cases

Key issues:

- Procedures for detecting violations of competition law
- The impact of legal positions taken by the courts of the Eurasian region on law enforcement
- The problems of proof in reviewing cases of violations of
- Problems of Proof in Cases of Antitrust Law Violations
- The role of expertise in antitrust disputes
- Difficulties with appeals against certain acts and actions of antimonopoly authorities

Joint discussion of the problematic issues of law enforcement

Anti-monopoly compliance measures as a systemic tool to reduce antitrust risks have been widely introduced in the system of regulatory provisions and methodological recommendations in the EAEC countries. However, they are not always comprehensible for businesses, and the need to integrate compliance into companies' management systems and obtain the regulator's approval raises disputes. How do regulators view anti-monopoly compliance and how ready are they to support the development of this institution? Practical problems and unsolved issues of antimonopoly risk reduction will be discussed by the representatives of antimonopoly authorities, consulting companies, and market players

Key issues:

- Procedure for implementation of antimonopoly compliance
- Commercial Policy as a Systemic Element of Antimonopoly Compliance antimonopoly compliance. The main approaches to its development and contents.
- Coordination of a compliance act with the anti-monopoly authority
- Evaluation of the effectiveness of antimonopoly compliance
- Reduction of liability subject to the compliance system
- Notification as a way to reduce antitrust risks

A dominant or monopolistic market position as a general rule is not a violation of the law. Abuse of one's position can be manifested by entities in terms of pricing. The establishment of monopolistically high (low) prices, violation of the order of pricing, and unjustified price discrimination are the most common violations of the antimonopoly legislation in the post-Soviet area. In its turn, a lot of questions and misunderstandings arise with regard to the methodology of calculation and selection of approaches to the determination of monopolistically high (low) prices by the antimonopoly body. The questions of the variability of pricing methods, including dynamic or drop-by-drop methods, the limits of their application by dominant companies, and the limits of non-compliance with the antimonopoly legislation will be discussed at the session

Key issues:

- Trends in pricing, modern methods, and the limits of admissibility of their use by dominant companies
- Approaches of competition authorities to the recognition and proof of dominant abuse in the form of monopolistically high prices or price discrimination
- Issues of "extraterritoriality" of pricing and application of the antimonopoly legislation
- Liability of the dominant for abuse of dominant position in the form of monopolistically high prices or price discrimination

Speakers' presentations