On Wednesday, Luxembourg's Prime Minister, Xavier Bettel, delivered his annual State of the Nation address at the Luxembourg parliament at the Chambre des Deputés, with the theme/mantra "Luxembourg does well if the people in Luxembourg do well".
In fact, the speech was supposed to have been delivered on Tuesday but, 20 minutes into the address, it was suspended due to problems with the audio system in the parliament, specifically concerning the live transmission. So, on Wednesday, shortly after 08:30, the Luxembourg parliament was reconvened and PM Bettel continued with his address.
Focusing on macro issues such as the economy and social cohesion, including the effect Brexit would have on the Grand Duchy, as well as aiming to increase the quality of life, he addressed economic, financial and social topics including:
• housing: demand is currently outstripping supply, and social housing provision has tripled over the past two years, plus financial incentives to encourage more private developments;
• infrastructure: the road network, the rail network, hospitals and utilities, as well as fibre-optic Internet connectivity, and also improving the quality of water in rivers and streams;
• education: including research and development, the school systems which must continually adapt, as well as the recruitment of an additional 350 educators (for helping children with learning difficulties), and free child care for 20-30 hours/week (depending on circumstances) as well as free tablets for secondary school pupils; • sport: the construction of a national Olympic Sports centre;
• Security: while domestic crime has fallen, international security remains a high concern; the recruitment of an additional 146 police officers next year, plus the appointment of a family judge; and
• transport / mobility: such as the tram network and the new Pfaffenthal train station and funicular, the first phase of which is to go live later this year, offering volunteers free public transport, tele-working and car-sharing.
With a population growing by 20% in just 20 years to almost 600,000 (of which just over half are nationals) and another 180,000 crossing the country's borders every weekday, the country is doing well economically - with strong social welfare and healthy public finances, and a good quality of life, with GDP growth estimated at 4.4% for 2017 and 5.2% for 2018 - but is facing challenges at the same time. The make-up of the country's workforce is currently 28% Luxembourgish nationals, 29% non-Luxembourgish residents and 43% cross-border workers.
To progress, the country cannot stand still and must continually invest, not only finding solutions for the short-term but also for the long-term; this includes education where the focus will be in sectors that generate wealth. GDP growth continues to outstrip most other EU Member States, unemployment is now down to 6.0% and Luxembourg's credit rating remains as "triple-A".
Prime Minister Bettel's address was followed by the Minister of Finance, Pierre Gramegna, presenting the Stability and Growth Programme including the 2017-18 budget, and the Minister of Economy, Etienne Schneider, presenting the National Reform Programme.
In response to the State of the Nation address by Prime Minister Bettel, the leader of the main opposition CSV party, Claude Wiseler, criticised the speech for a lack of substance and a lack of vision on topics such as refugees, culture and pensions.
