The Prime Minister was a guest on RTL Radio on Saturday afternoon and in addition Hungary's anti-LGBTQ+ legislation also discussed the future of the vaccination campaign.

Regarding vaccinations, Bettel confirmed that the first under-18s would receive their invitations next week. Those with pre-existing conditions will be prioritised for vaccination.

513,000 vaccinations have so far been carried out. 220,000 people are fully vaccinated. However, Bettel pointed out that had pharmaceutical companies delivered more vaccines, twice as many people could have been vaccinated last week.

The vaccination centres' capacity will be reduced at a steady pace, i.e. centres will be closed down once they are no longer needed. In addition, GPs will soon be able to administer Covid-19 vaccinations, the Prime Minister announced.

When asked about the Delta variant, Bettel stressed that "Luxembourg is not an island". The Delta variant, which is said to be more contagious, currently accounts for around one third of all coronavirus infections. However, the Prime Minister also pointed out that the Grand Duchy focuses a lot more on sequencing compared to other countries, which naturally results in more cases being discovered. As an example, Bettel cited a day where only one new infection was recorded, which automatically meant that the Delta variant accounted for 100% of confirmed coronavirus cases that day.

Luxembourg remains hesitant to introduce mixed vaccination, i.e. administering an mRNA vaccine as a second dose for someone who previously received a dose of AstraZeneca. Bettel stated that the government is still waiting on an official recommendation from the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Once EMA approves the procedure, Luxembourg will follow suit, according to the Prime Minister. However, in that case, people will still have choice whether they would like an mRNA vaccine as their second dose or the AstraZeneca jab.

During his speech on National Day, the Prime Minister described his government's crisis management during the pandemic as a "success made in Luxembourg". While every death – 818 in total so far – is "of course one too many", Bettel nevertheless pointed out that Luxembourg was for instance able to keep schools open for as long as possible. The retail and service industry were also closed for shorter periods of time compared to other countries and the Grand Duchy has managed to weather the crisis well from a financial point of view, the Prime Minister stated.

Xavier Bettel: "Being gay is not a choice, but being a homophobe is"

Bettel also discussed Hungary's anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, stating that his own coming-out in an interview broadcast on RTL Radio several years ago would not have been allowed under a law such as the one to be introduced in Hungary because of the chance that children could be listening.

Making policies at the expense of other people is "not right", Bettel stressed, adding that Hungary's Prime Minister Victor Orban is increasingly demonstrating far-right tendencies. Bettel emphasised that "being gay is not a choice, but being a homophobe is", and that coming out is not an easy thing to do. He explained that the topic is very personal to him and stressed that tolerance is a very important thing for a society to have.

Interview in Luxembourgish: