On 12 October 2011, the Luxembourg Parliament adopted a
new Competition Act, which will enter into force
on 1 February 2012.
The new Competition Act introduces the following changes:
- The Competition Inspectorate, a department
within the Ministry of the Economy in charge of investigating
competition cases, will be integrated into the Competition
Council, an independent administrative body that rules on
competition law violations. This move is intended to create
synergies in terms of resources between the two authorities and
improve their effectiveness. The new Competition Council will be
headed by a newly appointed chairperson.
- The Council of State (Conseil d'État),
which must be consulted on all legislative proposals, is strongly
opposed to this consolidation, as the Competition Council will now
wield both investigative and decision-making powers. In answer to
this criticism, the Luxembourg Parliament has guaranteed a
functional separation of investigative and
