Very soon the Government will approve a competition development programme for Russia. At a meeting of the Council on Competition and Entrepreneurship in the White House yesterday, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin accepted proposals and requests from businessmen.
With the global financial crisis in full swing, the Government has committed its best forces to support the real sector. But what's the use? Sound competition was, and is, nowhere to be seen. Businesses complain of harassment, and ordinary people suffer from high prices. The Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) has its hands full examining such cases. In 2007 alone, it registered almost 3,000 attempts by federal and local authorities to stymie competition.
"We risk obtaining the reverse effect: rather than use the crisis to boost and upgrade the economy we may give a second lease on life to ineffective and non-competitive companies supported by the state," Mr Putin warned the businessmen as he opened the meeting.
Can this be avoided? The White House has already given some thought to it. The future programme will consist of two parts.
"The first will protect competition with anti-monopoly measures. Anti-cartel efforts will be stepped up, and state bodies and corporations will be held more responsible for breaching competition rules. Criminal punishments are also envisaged. The second part will be concerned with competitive markets," the Prime Minister said.
For starters, administrative and infrastructure barriers will be removed, and speedily. Mr Putin suggested that better information services be provided for businesses, and more official data be published on markets and prices.
The next problem that the Prime Minister called attention to was giving unwarranted advantages to individual "insider" companies by state authorities and local government or, conversely, creating artificial barriers for "alien" businesses when placing state or municipal orders, for example.
Branches that brazenly violate competition rules will be dealt with most sternly.
"I am referring to aviation fuel prices, connections to power grids, coking coal and oil markets, housing and municipal utilities, and some others," the Prime Minister said.
Nor did the White House forget about small and mid-sized businesses. They will be allowed to fulfil state and municipal orders and supply materials purchased by the natural monopolies and state corporations.
Lastly, the programme aims to improve anti-monopoly legislation in general and draw a dividing line between tough but fair market behaviour and a no-holds-barred approach.
"The rules must be the same for everyone," Mr Putin said.
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Alexei Kudrin was 500 billion off
In 2009, the Reserve Fund must allocate more than one trillion roubles in aid, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin told the Federation Council yesterday. "We have created a good stability and safety cushion, which will function for three years and even more," he told the Senators.
It will be recalled that the Fund totals 3.5 trillion roubles.
Meanwhile a week ago, speaking at the State Duma, Mr Kudrin cited different figures. "Even if it (the Reserve Fund - Izvestia) is not replenished, but only spent at the rate of 500 billion roubles a year, it will last seven years," the minister promised.
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A dividing line must be drawn between tough but fair market behaviour and a no-holds-barred approach
Anastasiya Savinykh
7th federal issue