© Chambre des Députés / Flickr
Luxembourg MPs have begun debating the 2025 budget draft, with rapporteur Corinne Cahen drawing significant criticism for sidelining key financial issues like housing, investments, and poverty to instead focus on AI.
Two months after Finance Minister Gilles Roth unveiled the draft budget for 2025, rapporteur Corinne Cahen on Tuesday presented her remarks to MPs in the Chamber, describing the plan as "ambitious" but necessary in light of the "numerous challenges like the ageing population or the increase in energy prices". At the same time, Cahen highlighted potential opportunities, particularly in the fields of artificial intelligence, which she noted could drive productivity and transform sectors like healthcare.
AI was the central theme in Cahen's address, with her emphasising that Luxembourg should carve out "niches" within the sector, ensure local data storage, and create the necessary legal framework. To stay competitive with larger nations, Cahen urged Luxembourg and the EU to reduce bureaucratic hurdles and establish a capital markets union.
In regards to the EU's Artificial Intelligence Act, she advocated for the directive's adoption without unnecessary strictness, warning against excessive regulation.
Out of the 103 recommendations in her report, Cahen decided to highlight several key points, such as the swift introduction of chatbots in public administrations to streamline operations. She assured that no civil servants would lose their jobs, emphasising instead that AI would alleviate workloads. Other priorities include swiftly identifying AI-generated content and establishing a House of Ethics and Integrity to oversee emerging technologies.
Cahen concluded her speech with a sentence that she said was written by ChatGPT in response to the question of how best to end her report: "The future of AI lies in our hands – let us mold it responsibly to unite innovation and humanity."
© Flickr / Chambre des Députés
Missing the mark
Opposition MPs shared first reactions to Cahen's speech with RTL on Tuesday, criticising her for mainly focusing on AI rather than the actual budget.
MP Fred Keup of the Alternative Democratic Reform Party (ADR) labelled the report "off topic", adding that he believed Cahen did not master the subject of AI at all. Pirate Party MP Sven Clement agreed with this assessment and described Cahen's speech as "half-knowledge".
MP David Wagner of The Left argued it "wasn't a budget report" and that it focused too much on one topic despite "other priorities". He said he did not really know how to react and joked that he might get another budget report on Tuesday evening or Wednesday.
MP Taina Bofferding, who leads the parliamentary group of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP), found that Cahen's speech had rather resembled an "update" and that key figures of the budget were not discussed. Cahen said "very little" about housing, investments, debt, or poverty, which Bofferding described as irritating.
Greens MP Sam Tanson had the most supportive comments for Cahen, expressing her belief that the DP politician dedicated a lot of thought to a pressing issue. Nevertheless, Tanson pledged to be much more critical of the 2025 budget on Wednesday, particularly in light of reduced investments.
On Wednesday, MPs in the Chamber will extensively debate the budget before voting on the draft bill.
