21 November, Moscow

The International Conference “Common Economic Space 2020: Technical Regulation – the Integration Instrument” was arranged in the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration on November 21.

The Conference was organized by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation in conjunction with the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, the State Committee for Standardization of the Republic of Belarus, the Committee for Technical Regulation and Metrology of the Ministry of New Technologies of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Federal Agency on Technical Regulating and Metrology, the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration and Alliance Consulting Investment Group.

The Minister of Industry and Trade, V.B. Khristenko, opened the Conference:

“Consideration of system issues in the sphere of technical regulation within the framework of an international conference involving our partners has already become a fine tradition. The conference name, Technical Regulation 2020, challenges a wide and substantial discussion. The Declaration about the Eurasian Economic Integration adopted 2 days ago has finished formation of the Common Economic space and set new objectives: evaluate long-term perspectives and improve a technical regulation institute as well as form statutory grounds absorbing legislative bases of the member-states of the Common Economic Space without controversies”.

First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, I.I. Shuvalov, addressed the Conference attendees with a government telegram:

“Hard and serious work has been carried out for the year since signing the agreement on the single principles of technical regulation for the Customs Union countries that stipulates an adoption of the coordinated policy in the area of technical regulation and formation of the statutory and legal basis of the Customs Union in the area of technical regulation. First technical regulations of the Customs Union concerning provisions, light industry, automotive and other industries have been adopted. There will be approximately thirty technical regulations of the Customs Union by 2012. Our main objective – build an economic union to increase welfare of the population, business and contribute to cultural exchange”.

A.B. Chubais, Chairman of the Executive Board of Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies, delivered a paper indicating 30 projects of national standards adopted in 2011. The report also pointed out a role of facultative certification in the innovative economy to form standards, create a brand promoting innovative goods as well as decrease corruption in the certification area.

The plenary part of the Conference was attended by the Ambassador, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Russia F.M. Valenzuela, President of the International Organization for Standardization B.S. Aleshin, Vice-President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Chairman of the Committee on Technical Regulation and Conformity Assessment of the RUIE D.A. Pumpyansky.

V.U. Salamatov, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, closed the plenary session of the Conference and encouraged participation in the Panel Sessions.

Further the conference proceeded in the form of Panel Sessions to have essential issues of integration and a role of technical regulation in formation of the Common Economic Space, energy efficiency and energy saving, application of the European regulations in construction as well as matters of consumer goods safety considered.

The Panel Sessions were the grounds to share expertise and opinions and also solve issues and problems faced by the state bodies and business communities’ representatives due to integration processes in terms of the Customs Union, the Eurasian Economic Community, the CIS and the Common Economic Space.

Especially, issues of technical barriers elimination in reciprocal trade between the Customs Union states and the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, nonmembers of the Customs Union, interested the attendees.

The Conference ended with a review of the Panel Sessions outcome, brief reports by the moderators outlining main theses and key matters of discussions.

The closing speech by V.U. Salamatov emphasized the necessity in elaboration of effective methodological and statutory and legal basis simplifying practical implementation of technical standards to efficiently contribute to formation of the Common Economic Space:

“Relevance of technical regulations applied in various industries such as construction, power engineering or chemical industry is pleased to have been stressed by each speaker. Today’s Conference has shown the directions to work at and availability of the bridge to eliminate gaps between the countries. One of the main objectives is to resolve an issue how to apply technical regulations in practice. This requires huge efforts to develop a methodological basis – the way we start following”.

The International Conference “Common Economic Space 2020: Technical Regulation – the Integration Instrument” became a successful extension to the International Conference “Technical Regulation 2012: Instruments for forming the Common Economic Space” held last year in March. Main emphases of the Conference were placed on the approaches to formation of the Common Economic Space for the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation as well as exchange of expertise in the integration processes of creating the common economic space with the European Union.

Over 700 attendees participated in the activity, undoubtedly, having emphasized interest of the attendance and relevance of the discussed issues.

The Conference was partnered by the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Regional Development of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, the Secretariat of the Customs Union Commission, the Integration Committee Secretariat of the Eurasian Economic Community, the Executive Committee of the CIS and the Delegation of the European Union to Russia.

Chief information partner of the Conference was the International Information Group Interfax.

Other mass media partners were as follows: PRIME Business News Agency, Broadcasting Channel “The World”, RIA “Standards and Quality”, Newspaper Power and Industry of Russia, “A World of Standards” Magazine, “The Newsletter of Technical Regulation” Magazine, “Energy-Safety and Energy-Economy” Magazine, International Analytical Review “ALITinform: Cement. Concrete. Dry Mixtures”, EnergyAudit Magazine, Magazine “Energopolis” (general mass media partner of the Round table # 2 “Energy efficiency and energy saving. Key issues”), Internet portal about energy conservation and power efficiency EnergoSovet.Ru, Industrial and Civil Construction Magazine, Newspaper Stroitelniy Expert, Magazine Tekhnologii Stroitelstva (general mass media partner of the Round table # 3 “Application of the Eurocodes in construction. International standards”), Newspaper “Energetika”, Internet-portal InterEnergo, Journal IDO (Innovations Development Outsourcing), Electro-portal “Elekab”, Senator Magazine.

The Conference was supported by the VTB Group, the State Corporation “The Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs (VNESHECONOMBANK)”, the Eurasian Development Bank, the Russian Railways, the Association of Trading Companies and Manufacturers of Consumer Electronic and Computer Equipment (RATEK) and the Association of Branded Goods Manufacturers (RusBrand).

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