On Tuesday 16 September 2025, the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade (MAE) said it had taken note of a letter from the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF), addressed to Deputy Prime Minister Xavier Bettel dated Monday 15 September 2025 and received on Tuesday 16 September 2025.
According to the ministry, in the letter, the CSSF, an independent authority, requested an opinion regarding its decision of Monday 1 September 2025, which was made without prior consultation with the MAE.
The ministry recalled the communication issued by the CSSF on Tuesday 2 September 2025, following questions from the press regarding the CSSF Issuance of State Bonds by the State of Israel:
"Concerning the approval of the latest base prospectus of the State of Israel by the CSSF, it should be clarified that, in accordance with European rules on securities prospectuses, the State of Israel, as a third country, chose Ireland as its home Member State for the approval of prospectuses that allow it to request the admission of securities with denominations below €1,000 to regulated European markets and to offer these securities to the public in Europe to finance part of its budget. Thus, the Central Bank of Ireland is and generally remains competent for the approval of such prospectuses. However, Article 20(8) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 allows an issuer to request that the competent authority of its home Member State delegate the approval of a specific prospectus to the competent authority of another Member State. It is on the basis of this article that the State of Israel requested the Central Bank of Ireland to transfer the approval competence of its new base prospectus to the CSSF. The CSSF’s examination of this base prospectus for approval was carried out in accordance with European prospectus regulations, which are limited to determining whether the information in the prospectus is complete, consistent and comprehensible. By approving a prospectus in accordance with Article 20 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129, the CSSF does not commit itself regarding the economic or financial opportunity of the transaction or the quality and solvency of the issuer."
The ministry stated that at the Government Council (Cabinet) meeting on Friday 19 September 2025, Minister Bettel will request that this matter be placed on the agenda so that the Government can respond to the CSSF’s letter.
