Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The European Union Commission has published a report according to which the Russian government significantly limits market mechanisms in the country’s economy.

In particular, the document notes the following main market problems in the macroeconomics of Russia.

First, the decrease in the number of operating banks in Russia and the nationalization of the sector, which, according to the EU, seriously limits the competitive environment in the banking sector and seriously impedes the efficient allocation of capital.

Second, the weakness of the trade unions. This, according to European experts, is expressed in the restriction of workers’ right to strike, which, in turn, reduces the efficiency of the labor market.

Third, excessive government regulation of prices for both energy resources and electricity. While the EU Commission recognizes “the government’s efforts to implement reforms to improve the efficiency of the energy sector,” it immediately emphasizes that these reforms are far from complete. Especially the EU Commission is not satisfied with the dominant role of the state in the management of all Russian energy companies and the “insufficient level of privatization” of extractive, generating and distribution capacities.

Fourth, the existence of serious obstacles for Russian and foreign players in the public procurement system. At the same time, they also point to the lack of transparency in procurement and the level of corruption, which exceeds the indicators of the OECD member countries.

In general, the report, prepared for the implementation of EU trade protection procedures, examines the macroeconomics of Russia, key pricing factors, including the labor and energy market, as well as individual sectors of the economy. It is noted that the identified “distortions” arise when costs and costs (including costs of raw materials and electricity) are formed under the influence of the state, rather than market forces.

In this context, according to economists, the EC report creates a legal basis for future anti-dumping investigations on the widest range of Russian export goods, while appealing to the presence of serious signs of state regulation at the macroeconomic level.