Caritas has not yet met the criteria to receive funding from the State again, says Prime Minister Luc Frieden.

"We are looking at all options and we expect to have a solution on the table by September," the Prime Minister stated following a meeting with the OGBL trade union to discuss the ongoing Caritas crisis. As it stands, Frieden said the charity has not yet met the criteria to receive government funding again, even though Caritas has set up an independent crisis committee to address the ongoing embezzlement case.

The committee's creation was certainly a "confidence-building measure", Frieden said, but explained that the government could not yet commit to more funding as the embezzlement - thought to refer to a sum of 60 million euros - had not yet been clarified.

Another factor in the government's decision is the fact that Caritas took out loans in the amount of 30 million, which they are said to have guaranteed with future money coming from the State. The Prime Minister said his decision was strict, but it was his task to protect the government's finances.

Employee salaries will continue to be paid, as the government needs charity workers and their services within the social sector, Frieden added. "The State will ensure these activities can continue and that active staff, represented by the OGBL, will be taken care of."

Frieden said he and the relevant ministers hoped to have a solution on the table by September, although it could merely be a transitional solution.

RTL

As for Caritas activities abroad, cooperation minister Xavier Bettel is looking into these, the Prime Minister revealed. These activities differ from national ones as they are "non-recurrent".

Read more: Xavier Bettel: 'A disgraceful theft from the world's poorest'

The OGBL union expressed their satisfaction following the meeting, as president Nora Back said they would just wait to ensure that solutions were implemented in September.

As for how Caritas was able to secure loans of such a high value, Frieden said he was just as shocked as anyone else, but added that he could not comment on the role played by the banks involved as he did not yet have a report from the financial sector watchdog CSSF.