News
Expert Council on Competition and Antitrust Regulation to be created under EEC
During a 5+1 meeting with the participation of Bakhyt Sultanov, Minister in charge of Competition and Antitrust Regulation of the Eurasian Economic Commission, the heads of competition agencies of the Eurasian Economic Union countries endorsed the EEC initiative to create an Expert Council on Competition and Antitrust Regulation.
The event took place on the sidelines of the 55th meeting of the Interstate Council for Antitrust Policy of the CIS Member States in Yerevan.
“The Competition Unit of the Eurasian Economic Commission works closely with government agencies and the EAEU business community. However, for more effective work, it is necessary to have the Commission’s activities and initiatives assessed by independent experts specializing in the field of competition,” Bakhyt Sultanov commented on the news.
It is planned that the council will comprise representatives of independent expert communities in the field of competition and practicing lawyers from the EAEU countries.
In addition, the meeting discussed vesting the EEC with the competence to suppress violations of competition rules in cross-border markets by third-country entities, the report On Applying Criteria for Cross-Border Markets, approaches to the content of the annual report on the state of competition in cross-border markets and other topical issues.
“The 5+1 meetings are held several times a year in different countries of the Union, and they have already become a platform for the emerging foundations of the EAEU competition policy. Here we discuss not only the issues of improving national and supranational law and law enforcement practices, but also determine new tracks for developing measures to ensure competition,” said Bakhyt Sultanov.
Armine Hakobyan, Deputy Director of the EEC Department for Competition and Public Procurement, told the meeting participants about the Commission's work in the field of international competition. She noted that the Commission regularly held meetings with regional integration organizations vested with powers in the field of competition. At the EEC initiative, the topic of competition in regional integration associations is included in the agenda of the annual session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
It should be noted that representatives of the Committee for the Development of Competition and Protection of Consumer Rights of the Republic of Uzbekistan, a EAEU observer country, also took part in the meeting of heads of antitrust agencies of the Union countries. In their presentation, they shared their innovations – digital platforms to collect and analyze information in the main areas of work of the competition authority.
