Alexey Ivanov

The digitalisation of the economy and the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies pose new challenges for antitrust authorities worldwide. Major players in the AI market, equipped with significant resources, can block new entrants and set anti-competitive prices. Additionally, the use of AI raises increasingly complex ethical questions for which the global community has yet to develop answers. These and other issues were discussed at the Third BRICS+ Digital Competition Forum.

HSE University International BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre and the Competition Policy and Assessment Centre founded by the State Administration for Market Regulation of China signed a cooperation agreement. The parties agreed to come up with proposals for the development of exchange trade in goods and raw materials between Russia, China, and the BRICS countries.

A meeting of the BRICS Coordination Committee on Antimonopoly Policy was held in Geneva as part of Russia's BRICS Chairship in 2024. The meeting participants supported a project to launch a BRICS Interstate Platform on Fair Competition, developed by the International BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre of HSE University and presented by the FAS of Russia as an initiative of the Russian Chairship.

The market for biological products and their analogues is one of the most promising in the pharmaceutical industry. BRICS countries currently have great opportunities to develop this segment. The International BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre at HSE University, together with the Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, held a meeting of the BRICS Working Group for the Research of Competition Issues in Pharmaceutical Markets.

More than 70% to 80% of the calories we consume are derived from grain products. However, the global grain market today is dominated by a small group of traders. The HSE International BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre has proposed establishing an intergovernmental BRICS platform on fair competition to serve as a new mechanism for coordinating the efforts of antimonopoly authorities in regulating global markets. This topic was discussed at an international seminar in Cairo.

HSE University’s International BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre and the university’s Centre for Technology Transfer, together with the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA, Vienna), have released a draft version of the research report ‘The Carbon Farming Industry in Kazakhstan: Unlocking Opportunities.’ Experts from the UN Convention to Combat Desertification and the Kazakhstan-based TALAP Centre for Applied Research also took part in the project.

At the Russia-Africa Forum held last week, HSE University’s International BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre, in collaboration with the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia, organised a discussion on ‘The Fight against Anticompetitive Practices of Large TNCs, Cross-Border Cartel Combatting, and International Cooperation.’

The G20 Research and Innovation Initiative Gathering (RIIG) on circular bioeconomy was recently held in Dibrugarh, India. Over a hundred scientists, representatives of government agencies, and members of international organisations from almost thirty countries (including Russia) took part. Alexey Ivanov, Academic Supervisor of the Centre for Technology Transfer at HSE University, spoke about the role of carbon farming in climate change mitigation and bioeconomy development and presented a project of the Pokrovsky carbon test site operated by HSE University.

India is playing a special role on the international stage this year. Apart from chairing the G20, in October the country is hosting the VIII BRICS Competition Conference, which is held every two years. The HSE International BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre is involved in developing the programme and organising the conference. Alexey Ivanov, Director of the Centre, recently became a member of the International Advisory Board of India's Centre for Competition, Investment and Economic Regulation—CUTS.

As part of its G20 Presidency, India is hosting the Research and Innovation Initiative Gathering (RIIG). Alexey Ivanov, Director of the International BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre and Academic Supervisor of the HSE Technology Transfer Centre, represented Russia at the RIIG kick-off meeting. The Russian delegation also included representatives of the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education and a number of research institutes.

What are the main notions of the digital economy? Why will a nature-inspired approach help regulate network platforms more efficiently? What could a hypothetical merger between Elon Musk's business empire and the Chinese IT giant ByteDance lead to? These and other issues were discussed in Rio de Janeiro at the BRICS+ Digital Competition Forum, which was held by the BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre, the FGV Sao Paulo Law School and the Administrative Council for Economic Defense of Brazil (CADE).

A new HSE-operated carbon project—the Pokrovsky agricultural carbon test site—will soon be launched in the Moscow, Kaluga and Kirov regions. Its main purpose is to monitor greenhouse gas flows in the respective ecosystems to assess their carbon balance. The project is expected to produce the first Russian prototype of a comprehensive monitoring framework for ecosystems in agroforestry-based carbon farming.

The M. Narikbayev KAZGUU University in Nur-Sultan hosted the launch of a Master's programme in ‘Competition Law’ and the presentation of the textbook ‘Competition Law and Policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan’. The foreword to the textbook was written by President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The discussion was moderated by Alexey Ivanov, Director of the BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre at HSE University. A delegation from the Centre also took part in the event.

The BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre at HSE University and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) have signed a memorandum of understanding. The agreement is aimed at developing cooperation between UNCTAD and HSE University in the field of competition, with a focus on the problems posed by cross-border cartels.

Experts from the HSE BRICS Competition Law & Policy Centre presented a natural approach-based concept for antirust regulation of digital ecosystems at the 7^th BRICS International Competition Conference, which took place from 16th to 17th November 2021 in China.

The research and development of new approaches to antitrust regulation in the digital sector, the agro-industrial sector, the pharmaceutical industry, and other markets remain the main focus of the work of the BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre, which operates within HSE University. The Centre's Supervisory Board recently endorsed its work conducted over the past year and supported its agenda for this year.

The Government’s decree on providing for the activities of the International BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre as part of HSE University was issued last week. Previously, this department had operated at the HSE-Skolkovo Institute for Law and Development, however the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia, together with BRICS antimonopoly bodies, initiated the Centre’s restructuring as a stand-alone department. The HSE News Service learned more about the Centre’s work and its research into competition policy.

The academic director of the HSE — Skolkovo Institute for Law and Development, Ioannis Lianos, has been appointed head of Greece’s independent Competition Commission.

The plenary session ‘Strategy of Russian Presence at Global Food Markets’ took place as part of HSE University’s XX April International Academic Conference, where participants discussed the prospects for Russian agricultural exports to Asia, as well as the use of nonconventional investment models, such as Islamic financial tools.

The director of the Institute commented to Kommersant on the submission to the government of the bills to support competition in the Internet environment.

On October 22th-24th, the Eurasian Economic Commission is holding the third annual international forum "Eurasian week" in Yerevan. The Director of the Institute will moderate the discussion "Topical Issues of Competition in the EAEU".

The Institute together with the Afanasy Nikitin Association and the Agrofin-Congress group of companies on September 12th held an expert meeting on the implementation of Islamic investment instruments for developing the export potential of Russia's agro-industrial complex.

This summer, the HSE-Skolkovo Institute for Law and Development opened a new division - the BRICS Antimonopoly Centre. It will engage in applied research and expert analysis aimed at improving competition policies and strengthening antitrust regulation in the BRICS economies. The Centre will also coordinate the activities of the BRICS member states’ competition authorities and scientific communities.

An international seminar, chaired by Ioannis Lianos, organised by the Centre for Law, Economics and Society at the UCL Law Faculty, Yale Law School and the Law Faculty of the University of Athens, was held on July 30 in Athens. Alexey Ivanov and Kirill Molodyko participated in the discussion.

The Moscow Urban Forum will take place from July 17 to 22 at Zaryadye Park. This year’s topic is ‘Megacity of the Future: New Space for Living’. HSE representatives will participate in the forum’s expert discussions.

Institute Director gives an expert’s opinion on the RBC report on the regulation of e-commerce and the adoption of the Fifth Antimonopoly Package.

On June 4-5, the Development of Parliamentarism International Forum was held in Moscow. HSE experts took part in the forum organization, with several research departments from the university providing programming support for the event.

The search for consensus on antitrust law in the digital age, when traditional instruments stop working, is a complex affair. Participants in the plenary session ‘A New Phase of Antimonopoly Policy: Presenting the 5^th Antimonopoly Package’ at the HSE’s XIX April International Academic Conference, engaged in heated debate about the potential consequences of introducing fundamentally new legislative norms.

On the 22-23rd June the BRICS Competition Law and Policy Forum took place at HSE St Petersburg. The international conference was organised jointly by the HSE-Skolkovo Institute for Law and Development, the Centre for Law, Economics and Society at UCL and the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS). Heads of antitrust departments and experts from the BRICS and the EEC were joined by leading academics and experts on competition law from Europe and the US.

Head of HSE-Skolkovo International Laboratory for Law and Development Alexey Ivanov has been selected by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development as a leading international expert to conduct a comprehensive analysis on the status of Kazakhstan in relation to competition and compliance legislation and policy regulation for OECD member countries.