L-R: Mathias Cormann, Secretary-General of OECD; Xavier Bettel, Luxembourg's Prime Minister; Credit: SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen

On Thursday 2 December 2021, the Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Mathias Cormann, paid a working visit to Luxembourg.

Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann delivered the opening speeches at the 40th Annual Meeting of Senior Officials from Centres of Government, held at the European Convention Center in Luxembourg-Kirchberg.

In his speech, Prime Minister Xavier Bettel discussed the COVID-19 crisis that persists across the world, but also looked at the major challenges of the future, in which the OECD will have an important role to play. He particularly called for solidarity in the face of global challenges. 

“Faced with all these challenges, one key word is essential and that is that of solidarity. We must not allow ourselves to be pitted against each other. We must not allow the gulf to widen between us. Because we are all in the same boat", the Prime Minister stated. "This obviously applies at the national level, following the example of our policies to fight the coronavirus, but also and especially at the international level. It is not by closing our borders and closing in on ourselves that we will be able to face the many challenges that face us but, on the contrary, by emphasising enhanced international cooperation”.

During his working meeting with Secretary-General Mathias Cormann, Prime Minister Xavier Bettel announced that the Luxembourg government has decided to allocate more resources to its active participation in the work of the OECD, in particular by appointing a Permanent Representative and a team accredited specifically to the OECD in 2022. Other items on the meeting's agenda were the study on the management of the COVID-19 crisis that the Luxembourg government requested from the OECD, the economic study on Luxembourg 2022, OECD climate action and the enlargement of the organisation.

During his visit, the OECD Secretary-General also met Luxembourg's Minister of Finance, Pierre Gramegna. Discussions focused on international taxation, carbon pricing and the development of international standards for sustainable finance. Minister Gramegna commented: “I would like to congratulate the OECD for the remarkable work carried out in recent years in the field of international taxation. It is within the OECD that the world has found a common, fair and comprehensive response to the fiscal challenges raised by an increasingly globalised and digital economy. The two-pillar solution will reduce fiscal and trade tensions, while ensuring a global level-playing-field in tax matters. Luxembourg is fully committed at the level of the OECD and the EU for the rapid entry into force of the two pillars".

Secretary-General Mathias Cormann then met with Luxembourg's Minister of the Economy, Franz Fayot, who spoke of the commitment of the OECD in the development and implementation of responsible business conduct policies. Minister Fayot said: “Luxembourg welcomes the committed work of the OECD in terms of responsible business conduct and the general consideration of fundamental human rights principles in its work. This work is also a source of inspiration in the context of our participation in the UN Human Rights Committee for the period 2022-2024”.

As part of a working breakfast, the OECD Secretary-General also spoke with Luxembourg's Minister of the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development, Carole Dieschbourg, about the progress of climate issues in OECD member countries. The discussion focused in particular on the support of the OECD in the gradual abolition of subsidy systems having a negative impact on the climate and on the environment in general. Minister Dieschbourg emphasised Luxembourg's desire to play an active role in the new OECD International Programme for Action on Climate (IPAC) and took the opportunity to discuss in more detail the terms of such engagement.

Moreover, Secretary-General Mathias Cormann was received in audience by His Royal Highness the Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg at the Grand Ducal Palace.