To date, the state has paid almost €40 million to the company 'Oeko-Service Lëtzebuerg'. And this without any legal basis, according to MP Sven Clement from the Pirate Party.
According to information obtained by RTL, the contract concluded in 2018 between the Ministry of the Environment and Oeko-Service Lëtzebuerg, the operating company behind 'Superdreckskëscht', for €10 million per year has no legal basis.
This is the conclusion reached by two legal opinions presented on Monday to the members of the Parliamentary Committee on Budgetary Control. The contract is valid for 10 years. Almost €40 million have been paid to Oeko-Service Lëtzebuerg so far. Speaking to our colleagues from RTL Radio, MP Sven Clement stated that all of this happened without any legal framework, as the contract is potentially void.
Indeed, contracts worth more than €40 million require a special financing law. This is also the case for contracts covering more than one financial year, which commit the state in the longer term. The agreement signed between the Ministry of the Environment and Oeko-Service Lëtzebuerg meets these criteria, but no special financing law was passed. Otherwise, there would have been a debate in the Chamber of Deputies on the subject, as Clement explained. The MP criticised that without this special law, the government evaded parliamentary control.
The Committee on Budgetary Control had previously asked for legal opinions on the agreement. One was provided by the Chamber of Deputies' Scientific Unit, the other by an independent lawyer.
The service provider Oeko-Service Lëtzebuerg was audited in September 2021. The main question at the time was where the public money was going. Several discrepancies were found. However, Clement stated that these were "peanuts" compared to what has now been discovered. At the time, the MPs assumed that all this had a legal basis. But without a sufficient legal framework, the contracts would be null and void.
The question now is whether the 'Superdreckskëscht' initiative can be continued in this form and with this provider. In addition, these latest developments raise the question of who was responsible for the payments in the past. The Commission will meet again next Monday to discuss the implications of these legal opinions, this time with the Minister for the Environment and the members of the ad hoc committee. Meanwhile, it is said that a third legal opinion, drawn up by the Ministry of the Environment, has come to a different conclusion.
Minister for the Environment reacts
Speaking to our colleagues from RTL Radio on Tuesday morning, Minister for the Environment Carole Dieschbourg stated that "if something is no longer in order with the law, we will of course amend it accordingly".
However, Dieschbourg added that the legal opinions should first be properly assessed and considered. Referring to the meeting of the commission next Monday, the Minister stressed that, if necessary, immediate action would be taken.
Dieschbourg specified that this could potentially also have repercussions on other major state contracts that run for several years.
Despite the ongoing controversy surrounding 'SuperDrecksKëscht', the Minister stressed that this particular discussion concerns a "legal issue" and not "political decisions".
Dieschbourg stated that it is "right and very good" that the Chamber of Deputies is taking its role as a supervisory body very seriously.
