Administrative reform will not trigger Cabinet reorganization

The government does not link an administrative reform with thereorganization of the Cabinet, a source in the Russian government told inan interview with RBC. He stressed that changes in the structure of federalauthorities were "the sole competence of the President and the PrimeMinister." According to the source, the administrative reform should becarried out in two main directions. Firstly, it is necessary to set out thedegree of the government's participation in the economy in new laws. "Weshould take an in-depth look at each sector and curtail the constitutionalpowers of the state's presence on the market wherever it's necessary," thesource said. The second stage of the reform envisages the distribution ofthese powers between federal and regional authorities.In the opinion of the source, only a profound analysis can bring anunderstanding of what kind of changes need to be made in the executivebranch and to what extent. In his address to the Federal Assembly, Russian President Vladimir Putincommissioned Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov to prepare a draft concept ofthe administrative reform. Igor Shuvalov, head of the managing board of thegovernment, is supervising the progress of work on this document..