OREANDA-NEWS. May 26, 2010. Deputy Head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia), Pavel Subbotin, and the Governor of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, Valery Shantsev, signed an Agreement on Cooperation between FAS Russia and the Government of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

The Agreement between FAS Russia and the Government of the Nizhny Novgorod Region is aimed at protecting competition and creating conditions for effective market performance, implementing the programme for developing competition in the Nizhny Novgorod region, as well as observing the antimonopoly law, the law on advertising and the law regulating natural monopolies.

In particular, the Agreement provides for:

- drafting a join Action Plan, including events aimed at developing small and medium business, namely, lowering administrative barriers for market entry and developing competition,
- organizing mutual consultations and exchange of normative legal acts, recommended practice, analytical and statistical information on the issues relevant to the subject matter of the Agreement, including the state of competition on the markets in the Nizhny Novgorod region.

Both parties intend to pay special attention to the joint arrangements for verifying whether prices for socially important goods and medicines are justified. Verifications can be initiated by any party provided there are necessary grounds for inspections. Based on the provided information and within the scope of its reference, each party organizes activities aimed at preventing, suppressing and revealing violations of the existing antimonopoly legislation.

According to the Agreement, as part of cooperation with FAS Russia the Government of the Nizhny Novgorod Region shall consider proposals, materials and information forwarded by FAS Russia, take part in joint arrangements and facilitate publishing information, supplied by FAS Russia on the issues relevant to the subject matter of the Agreement, in subsidiary media.

In its turn, FAS Russia shall inform the Government of the Nizhny Novgorod Region about the results of inspections organized on the basis of materials received from the Government of the Nizhny Novgorod Region or the executive bodies of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, as well as other control activities, affecting the scope of reference of the Government of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, and market monitoring; shall timely inform the Government of the Nizhny Novgorod Region about legislative changes related to the subject matter of the Agreement that come into force and gives explanations about administration of such norms of law; and shall enter into Agreements on Cooperation with the executive bodies of the Nizhny Novgorod Region in executing state functions on the basis of multifunctional centres.