Customs and Excise Agency team at the Luxembourg Air Rescue vaccination centre with Minister of Finance Pierre Gramegna; Credit: MFIN

As of 24 April 2021, Luxembourg's Customs and Excise Agency (Administration des douanes et accises - ADA) had cleared 2,000 tonnes of COVID-19 medial supply imports for the Grand Duchy and neighbouring countries.

On Wednesday 28 April 2021, Luxembourg's Minister of Finance Pierre Gramegna visited, in the presence of ADA Director Alain Bellot, the three vaccination centres in Esch-Belval, Luxembourg-Limpertsberg (Hall Victor Hugo) and Luxembourg-Findel (Luxembourg Air Rescue). During this visit, the minister learned about the work of customs agents as part of the vaccination campaign and took stock of the agency's commitment to the fight against the pandemic.

About 40 officials currently provide reception in vaccination centres and verify the identity of people invited to get vaccinated. On 4 December 2020, the government decided that the ADA, the Grand-Ducal Fire and Rescue Corps (Corps grand-ducal d'incendie et de secours - CGDIS) and the Luxembourg Army would make their teams available to vaccination centres to fulfil administrative and logistical tasks.

Besides its participation in vaccination centres, the ADA also logistically supported the mobile teams carrying out vaccinations in nursing and retirement homes, prisons and other places.

The agency is also responsible for the importation from non-European Union (EU) countries of health equipment related to the COVID-19 pandemic. For the period from 1 March 2020 to 24 April 2021 alone, customs cleared 2,000 tonnes of masks, protective gloves, disinfectants and diagnostic kits, worth around €300 million, for import into Luxembourg and its neighbouring countries.

In addition, the ADA contributes, together with the Grand Ducal Police, to compliance with health measures on the national territory, especially in public transport.

Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna commented: “As the Minister responsible for the Customs and Excise Agency, I would like to thank Alain Bellot and his teams for their efforts and their support over the past few weeks in the implementation of the vaccination campaign. I salute the exemplary commitment of the Agency within the framework of the management of the health crisis and its essential contribution to the protection of the health of all citizens".