MINSK, 13 November (BelTA) - Cooperation of antitrust authorities helps promote competition in global markets, Belarus Minister of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade Vladimir Koltovich said as he addressed the international conference "Development of Competition in Industry Markets: Theoretical and Practical Aspects" in Minsk on 13 November, BelTA has learned.
On 13 November, the Ministry of Antitrust Regulation and Trade of Belarus and the Romanian Competition Council signed a memorandum of cooperation in the field of competition policy. Plans are in place to sign a similar memorandum with the Austrian Federal Competition Authority.
“These are not meaningless documents. They are action-oriented. We rely on them as we work with our colleagues as part of various kinds of investigations. Without the cooperation of antitrust authorities, it is simply impossible to prove violations and enforce competition rules in global markets today,” Vladimir Koltovich noted.
According to the minister, in January-September the Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade (MART) reviewed more than three hundred applications concerning possible violation of antitrust laws. In some cases, violations have been committed not only by business but also by government agencies. “Soft” mechanisms of warnings and admonitions have been deployed to advocate the competition, Vladimir Koltovich noted. Their use helps avoid violations of the law.
One of MART's priorities is to promote antitrust compliance, especially at export-oriented enterprises. “In other words, we need antitrust compliance specialists to raise awareness of anticompetitive behavior at enterprises. Such services should be set up at all enterprises. We want to achieve this goal through promoting the understanding of the need for this measure, not by administrative means,” Vladimir Koltovich added.
The organizers of the international conference on competition in industry markets in Minsk were the Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade of Belarus, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Eurasian Antitrust Association.
