A proposal to allow residents of Erpeldange-sur-Sûre an earlier say on the Nordstad merger was voted down by the municipal council on Thursday, keeping the current timeline for a 2027 decision in place.
On Thursday, the municipal council of Erpeldange-sur-Sûre voted against a motion to hold an earlier referendum on the proposed Nordstad merger.
The motion sought to give residents the opportunity to decide whether Erpeldange should continue merger talks with Diekirch, Ettelbruck, Schieren, and potentially Bettendorf, or withdraw from the process.
Laurent Lacour, the author of the motion, is sceptical about the prospects of the Nordstad merger, which he had made clear during the local elections. Lacour argued that it is important to know people’s opinion before 2027.
“This is an important merger, or at least it should become one in 2027, yet one out of four or five communes already voted no on the referendum. Everything seems to be in shambles. At least this would have been the possibility to get a feel of the situation, since Erpeldange is right in the middle of the other communes - without it, they cannot reach each other.”
The council rejected the proposal with six votes against and three in favour. This decision upholds the stance taken on 3 June, committing the council to proceed with the merger discussions. Under the current timeline, residents will vote on the merger in 2027, after the concrete details of the project have been finalised.
Mayor Claude Gleis felt it was the wrong time for a referendum:
“We need to look for arguments now: what does a draft of Nordstad look like? People need to know what they are voting against. People should vote with 'connaissance de cause'. They need to be informed, rather than listen to their gut feeling in a referendum.”
Different views regarding communication
Laurent Lacour remained unconvinced when it comes to representing and informing the population:
“We recently had an informational conference at the Nordstad syndicate. I was very disappointed due to the lack of information given. They have created 'work groups' which will handle the merger discussions. As always, when it comes to citizen contributions or committees, five people are deemed to be representative for 2,500 people. I think that is a very wrong perception. It simply cannot be a correct representation.”
On the other hand, mayor Claude Gleis appears to be very optimistic about the progress of fusion-related conversations:
“We have really good communication between the four communes at the minute. We work well together, and we have already hired external offices, while consulting our workgroups. Other workgroups are being instructed as we speak, which should include the local councils. In the next phase, citizens are expected to join in too. We just want to find out what the advantages and disadvantages are of a possible merger."
Meanwhile, Bettendorf has taken a different approach. A referendum is scheduled for March 2025 following a citizens' initiative opposing the decision of local representatives who preferred to exit the merger discussions immediately.
The Nordstad ("North City") project envisions the unification of several northern municipalities, namely Diekirch, Ettelbruck, Schieren, and Erpeldange-sur-Sûre. Bettendorf was initially part of the plan but has since reconsidered its participation.
