Following Bettendorf's recent decision to exit merger talks, the Nordstad committee met on Tuesday to discuss the future of cooperation among northern Luxembourg municipalities.

On Tuesday evening, the intercommunal syndicate Nordstad held its first meeting since Bettendorf's decision to withdraw from the merger negotiations aimed at creating a new northern Luxembourg municipality.

Last week, Bettendorf's municipal council voted to end discussions on forming the proposed "Nordstad" ("Northern City") commune, which would include several municipalities from northern Luxembourg.

Bettendorf Mayor Patrick Mergen emphasised that his town still has options for cooperation with neighbouring municipalities. While Bettendorf intends to remain a member of the syndicate, Mergen stated that moving forward, there must be a clear distinction between merger-related matters and other syndicate activities.

Diekirch Mayor Charel Weiler raised concerns over the legality of Bettendorf's decision, noting that the council's vote was conducted by a secret ballot, a method not permitted under current law. Mergen responded that even with a public vote, the outcome would remain the same. The Ministry of Home Affairs is now tasked with reviewing the legality of the decision.

Meanwhile, Claude Gleis, Mayor of Erpeldange-sur-Sûre and spokesperson for the Nordstad project, announced that Diekirch, Ettelbruck, Erpeldange-sur-Sûre, and Schieren plan to pass a new resolution regarding the merger in the near future.

Fränk Kuffer, a member of the municipal executive board ("Schäfferot") in Erpeldange-sur-Sûre, expressed doubt about the future cooperation with Bettendorf, noting that the syndicate's work will increasingly focus on the merger moving forward.