Reform and debate: Luxembourg's political agenda for 2025

The end of the year is often a time to look back, yet our colleagues at RTL decided to also look ahead and see which political debates will become or stay important in Luxembourg in 2025.

Pension reform 

While a potential pension reform played little to no role in recent elections, the topic has dominated much of this year's political discussions. After Health Minister Martine Deprez announced that the government would first seek opportunities to discuss the issue with various actors in the field, a platform entitled 'Schwätz-Mat.lu' – which roughly translates to 'join the conversation' – was set up to give citizens a chance to submit suggestions from October to December.

However, there was a limit of 500 signs imposed. In total, 4,600 people visited the website and over 2,000 suggestions were submitted. Those included propositions for high pension caps, models for complimentary schemes, and demands for the unification of the pension system in the public and private sectors.

Minister Deprez intends to read all of the propositions in January, and subsequently start the consultations, though no further details about the nature of these talks is known at this stage.

The opinions of the different social partners are presumably divided. While the trade unions see little need for a major reform, employers have warned of the ominous "pension wall", arguing in favour of adaptations concerning baby and university years.

Social dialogue

Labour Minister Georges Mischo has already hinted at the possibility of trade unions losing their exclusive right to negotiate collective work agreements. One argument in favour of this is that across many of Luxembourg's staff delegations, the number of representatives who do not belong to a union has overtaken that of those who do.

The trade unions, however, do not want to lose their right and have already threatened with general strikes. They argue for more collective agreements in general but say that those need to be negotiated in their presence, as neutral delegates have less backing.

The flexibility of working hours is expected to be another hot topic in 2025, particularly in light of the recent announcement that businesses can extend Sunday opening hours, as well as double Sunday shifts from four to eight. Here, unions accuse the government of once again siding with employers, whereas the government reproaches that unions are too far removed from employees' lived experiences.

Reform of electoral law 

Lawmakers in the Chamber of Deputies also face the daunting task of passing an electoral law reform in early 2025, at least if they want to respect the deadline set by Chamber President Claude Wiseler.

Initially, the propositions for a reform of the electoral law were supposed to be filed by 1 November 2024. However, out of the seven parties represented in the Chamber, none adhered to the date.

The new date for submissions is now 1 February 2025. Alongside the suggestions from political parties, the parliamentary institution commission will also take into account the opinions of those working in polling stations.

Whether the current electoral law is still appropriate to modern times has been a topic of discussion for some time. An important critique is that, in a country made up of 47% foreigners, only Luxembourgish citizens are allowed to vote. This issue was last put to a test in a 2015 referendum in which 78% of voters decided against an inclusion of non-nationalised voters.

Another point of contention is the legal obligation to vote. Although it technically still exists, the judiciary has seized following up on instances of non-compliance since 1964, the official reason being that it would be an unnecessary burden for authorities. A potential reason for sustaining the legal obligation is to safeguard voter turnout and representation levels.

Ultimately, the organisation of the country into four electoral districts keeps being criticised. Diverse studies have shown that the main parties benefit form it, which explains their disinterest to change it. Thus, it is unclear how and if the electoral law will be amended at all.

Read also – Does little Luxembourg need four electoral districts?

Nordstad merger

On 23 March 2025, the citizens of Bettendorf will head to the polls in a referendum on the continuation of merger talks with neighbouring towns Diekirch, Erpeldange-sur-Sûre, Ettelbruck, and Schieren to form the Nordstad municipality. The municipal amalgamation itself is expected to be put to the test in a 2027 referendum.

While the citizen's initiative behind the referendum garnered far more than the needed signatures, the referendum still only holds advisory status, meaning the local council does not have to adhere to the result.

Sources say that citizens would have to overwhelmingly vote in favour of a continuation of talks for the seven out of 11 advisers to have voted against it to still change their minds. Moreover, it is unclear if the other four communes still intend to negotiate with Bettendorf.

However, similar instances of local councils going against the will of voters have occurred in the past. In Weiswampach, for instance, voters had explicitly called against a hotel near the lake. hotel is currently expected to open its doors in 2025.