The Luxembourg Competition Council finds not abusive the refusal by a professional association in the field of car expertise services to accept a member and considers that trade between member States is not affected (OEIPA/Schmitt)

On 5 September 2007 the Competition Council (“Conseil de la concurrence”) has handed down a decision in a case between a professional association of car assessment experts, OEIPA and Mr Carlo Schmit, a Luxembourg car assessment expert. In 1997 OEIPA refused the latter to become a member because he would not have fulfilled the membership conditions. The refusal by OEIPA adversely affected Carlo Schmit's business, in particular when one of the principal Luxembourg car insurance companies, La Luxembourgeoise S.A. , decided in 2003 to mandate exclusively car assessment experts that were members of OEIPA. The mandates of La Luxembourgeoise accounted for 1/3rd of the car assessments carried out by Carlo Schmit. Carlo Schmit challenged the membership conditions before the Luxembourg