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

The objective of such a regime would be to give the Competition Council the power and the tools to carry out a ex ante the control of certain mergers and acquisitions or other combinations between companies likely to have a restrictive effect on competition in Luxembourg. Such a regime would allow early detection of such threats to competition, potentially limiting harm to consumers and businesses alike.

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

The Ministry of the Economy has indicated that it is working in close collaboration with the Competition Council and all the ministerial departments concerned on this subject. The ministry’s objective is to steer the preparatory work planned for 2022 with a view to subsequently tabling a bill.

Public input is sought to assess whether such a regime is necessary and, if so, how it should be implemented. All interested parties can participate before March 31, 2022. A link to the public consultation is available here
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