"Universities alone must submit quite a weighty folder, about 250 documents, 3,000 pages [to obtain the licence] in total. We cannot ensure a proper quality of education simply by making organisations collect reams of paperwork. The existing procedure needs overhauling and streamlining. In my view, licenses should not be limited in term. At the same time, the penalties for license and regulation violation must be toughened. Fire safety inspections and inspections of education conditions and general quality must be regular, rigorous and unbiased."
"From my viewpoint, it is necessary to manage licensing and state accreditation policies making them effective processes for education development. We must encourage a healthy competition in the education market, screening out establishments that do not comply with contemporary standards. Some 140,000 educational institutions in Russia need licenses."
"As you know, amendments to the law on technical regulation have recently been passed to speed up and simplify the decision-making process. In particular, the amended law allows some appropriate decision to be made at the ministerial level. We propose transferring relevant powers to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. I expect this arrangement to speed up the process of updating the regulatory framework for our industry. The new rules will free manufacturers from unnecessary barriers, improve production and facilitate Russia's emergence in world markets. To be sure, the basic purpose of the new regulations is to promote the modernisation of the entire national economy".
"I support the ministry's view that it should not try to keep its excessive regulating and control functions. I hope that the ministry will take a most active part in elaborating and introducing modern economic methods of ensuring safety. I am referring to mandatory liability insurance, safety audit and better system of technical regulation. Eventually we must effectively encourage businesspeople to invest in safety. I am talking not only about companies providing services but also about all branches of industry and infrastructure".
"The investigation showed that if the fire inspection had been effective this tragedy would not have happened. This is why our common goal for this year is to seriously revise the principles of fire inspection procedures".
"I would like to note that in the last few years Russian rescue services have considerably enhanced their technical equipment, the personnel potential and mobility. However we must admit that there are still many problems. The system of warning about emergencies remains ineffective. The fire inspection makes this particularly obvious".
"I don't have to repeat that everything pertaining to people's safety has always been and will remain one of the government's main priorities. The government will continue to pay most careful attention to that. In effect, our goal should be to protect Russian citizens against any threats, be it from criminals, road traffic, fire, man-made disasters and natural catastrophes wherever possible".
"It is obvious that most regulatory procedures are a mere formality, unfortunately. More often than not inspections are carried out to collect kickbacks rather than inspect anything. This situation cannot be tolerated by ordinary people, businesses and the government. If we want to improve the business environment, which is a must, and encourage the development of small and medium-sized businesses, we must overhaul these procedures, and above all, the very nature of our regulation and supervision".
"There are no clear-cut relations between federal and regional government and administrative bodies to regulate agribusinesses. This particularly applies to prompt responses to local outbreaks of veterinary diseases. Precious time is impermissibly wasted on mutual shifting of responsibility and interdepartmental correspondence. And during this process, losses for producers are growing along with budget expenditures to deal with the consequences of these emergencies. I believe that today we should make comprehensive decisions for reforming the system of veterinary and phytosanitary oversight, including by amending federal legislation and departmental normative acts".
"There is no need to explain how important safety is for the production and sale of food products. However, for all its external appearance of reliability, the existing system does not guarantee either full or the most effective quality control. <…> The fact is that the regulatory system for agribusinesses is creating problems for honest producers. Those who smuggle illegal or poor quality goods into the Russian market, including imported products, easily circumvent these requirements and find themselves in a more beneficial position. They are making undeserved profits, and, what is the worst, threatening the health and even lives of consumers".