Merger control in Luxembourg – Launch of a public consultation

On 20 January 2022, the Ministry of Economy launched a public consultation on the possible implementation of a merger control regime in Luxembourg.

The purpose of such a regime would be to give the Competition Council the power and the tools to carry out an  ex ante control of certain mergers and acquisitions or other alignments between undertakings which may have a restrictive effect on competition in Luxembourg. Such a regime would allow for early detection of such threats to competition, potentially limiting damage to consumers and undertakings alike.

While this would be a novelty in Luxembourg law, such regimes already exist at the level of the European Union as well as in the other Member States of the European Union.

The Ministry of Economy has stated that it is working in close collaboration with the Competition Council and all affected ministerial departments on this subject. The Ministry’s objective is to steer preparatory works scheduled for 2022 with a view to introducing a bill of law later on.

The public’s opinion is sought in order to assess whether such a regime is necessary and, if so, how it should be implemented. All interested parties may participate before 31 March 2022. A link to the public consultation (in French) can be found here.