AMCHAM Drives Affordable Housing Initiative

On Wednesday 22 January 2025, the American Chamber of Commerce in Luxembourg (AMCHAM) held a New Year Reception at the Spuerkeess headquarters in Luxembourg-Gare, during which a significant initiative regarding affordable housing was presented.

The event started in the auditorium where Françoise Thoma, CEO of Spuerkeess, welcomed the 240 guests which included the ambassadors of both China and Japan. She welcomed everyone to the premises and referred to the waiting list of people who wanted to be involved in this significant event. She said that the world is becoming more controversial, but the Luxembourg model is attractive. She stressed that each and every person in the room could make an impact in facing the challenges that lie ahead.

Paul Schonenberg, AMCHAM Chairman, delivered a Keynote Address, first thanking the event sponsors. He recalled his arrival in Luxembourg in 1992 and opening an account at the Spuerkeess. He conveyed his appreciation for those attending, supporting AMCHAM's mission. He talked about the current challenging times, describing them as an opportunity, and he expressed his optimism for the future.

Mariangela Marseglia, Amazon VP European Stores, stated that she and her family are settling in, having only recently arrived in the Grand Duchy. She mentioned that Amazon has been in Luxembourg for 20 years, during which time they have invested over €9bn in the country. She added that the company wants to have good relations with the country of Luxembourg, and then talked about her four priorities going forward: Its workforce (4,250 employees with high-quality jobs); Supporting small and medium sized businesses (280,000 small businesses sell via Amazon); The environment, by increasing its commitment in sustainability; and Innovation - it has big investments in AI, drone technology, etc.

Michael Konstantino, Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires at the US Embassy in Luxembourg, opened by stating that he shared the sense of optimism going forward. He described AMCHAM as providing an invaluable bridge between America and Luxembourg, adding that the two countries have, for a long time, stood side by side, on the battlefield and beyond. He talked about making the impossible possible and opening new doors for economic growth and prosperity. He referenced statistics that American companies in Luxembourg employ around 25,000 people here, including at Goodyear, Amazon and more, and the likes of SES, a Luxembourg company, employing over a thousand people in America.

Paul Schonenberg announced that AMCHAM will be creating a Government Relations committee, to he led by a representative from Amazon. He talked about being concerned about taxes, education and housing, which led onto his introduction of two Luxembourg government ministers as Guests of Honour: the Minister of Education, Children and Youth, and of Housing and Spatial Planning, Claude Meisch, and the Minister for Home Affairs, Léon Gloden, who is also responsible for the police force.

Minister Meisch described the event as providing a great platform for dialogue. He talked about strengthening the community which he said needs to embrace diversity, referencing the international expatriate community. He mentioned that Luxembourg’s public school system now offers classes in English, with the opportunity to prepare for three different exams. In this context he announced that, by 2028, three new international public schools aimed at children of the international community will open, in Esch-sur-Alzette, Dudelange and Luxembourg city.

He also mentioned the government setting the framework for affordable housing solutions, encouraging public private partnerships to create housing solutions that are suitable for everyone. He talked about the new government initiative in affordable housing, referencing the law of 2023 which supports companies investing in housing for staff, benefiting up to 70%. He revealed that this law is being opened to all AMCHAM-affiliated companies and emphasised that this housing eco-system is sustainable, stressing that the support of business leaders is essential.

Minister Meisch then presented a letter to Paul Schonenberg and AMCHAM's Real Estate Committee, affirming AMCHAM's entitlement to receive substantial financial subsidies for helping to create badly-needed housing solutions in support of this target constituency of young future business leaders just starting their careers.

Joining Minister Meisch and Paul Schonenberg celebrating this event were Yves Stein, CEO of Rothschild Bank and Chairman of the Luxembourg Bankers association (ABBL), Mario De Stefano, the founding partner of DSM Avocats à la Cour and Chairperson of the AMCHAM Real Estate committee (AMCHAM.re), Stefan Di Carlo, Managing partner of SDC Interior Design and AMCHAM.re member, and David Arendt, Independent Director and AMCHAM.re member.

Paul Schonenberg commented that affordable housing in this context would be for young university graduates coming from outside Luxembourg.

Yves Stein delivered a brief address and said that calculations indicate that housing needs in the coming years will amount to 300,000 people, and he was very happy with this announcement.

Minister Gloden then addressed the relationship between America and Luxembourg being one of shared values, and mentioned the recent celebrations to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge. He mentioned the ongoing war in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East, arguing for heightened defences. He highlighted Luxembourg being stable, despite there being political uncertainty in neighbouring countries. He referred to the importance of the Schengen agreement, and the current government building in the future, referencing slight growth last year, with income continuing to grow faster than expenses this year. He also mentioned AI, and his ministry’s work in this area which will see a new bill coming before parliament in the coming months. He talked about the recent changes in the police force, including recruitment for new positions, as well as continuing the fight against drugs, and the simplification of procedures: for example, going forward, planning permission will not be needed for garden sheds of less than 12m2 and photovoltaic installations of less than 30kw.

Chronicle.lu took the opportunity to talk with AMCHAM's Chairman, Paul Schonenberg, who provided the background to this by explaining: "AMCHAM has been concerned for some time about affordable housing (especially impacting young employees recruited to work in Luxembourg at the start of their careers). Regrettably, most of the discussion on affordable housing has focused on helping builders, poor people, refugees and asylum seekers, with very little focus on solution to help the business community to ensure adequate supply of affordable housing for the young university graduates Luxemburg needs to bring into the country to work, live and (hopefully) become part of the Luxembourg ecosystem. With 95% of Luxembourg housing accommodations being family housing, quite many of these young people we need as employees simply cannot find local housing accommodations which forces the people in this target populate either to live in group housing [co-living] (which many of them hate...) or to live outside the country in Germany, Belgium and France, thereby losing the opportunity to fall in love with Luxembourg and commit to the country for the rest of their lives".

He concluded by stating: "To address this, AMCHAM has worked with the government to raise awareness of this business-critical need and has been pleased to support the legal change which now allows non-profit organisations (like AMCHAM) to become involved and receive subsidies from the government for their involvement developing affordable housing solutions. With this change [in the law], AMCHAM has now become involved in three real estate development projects to develop micro housing apartment projects in support of single employees working for AMCHAM [member] companies". 

After the formal part of the evening, the attendees them move across to the Banquet Hall for a networking cocktail and walking dinner.

UPDATED to correct a company name.