On Wednesday, members of Luxembourg's parliament reacted to Xavier Bettel's stance on foreign policy, with several criticising what they described as a lack of clarity and coherence.

On Tuesday afternoon, Bettel delivered a foreign policy declaration in parliament outlining Luxembourg's stance on current global instabilities from Ukraine to the Middle East. However, opposition MPs seem dissatisfied with the positioning.

LSAP MP Yves Cruchten lamented the Luxembourg government was hiding behind other countries on key issues. "When things get uncomfortable, [the government] waits until others take the lead, see what direction the EU takes, and then trails behind. But that's not what accountability should look like."

Sam Tanson from The Greens questioned the purpose of Bettel's declaration altogether, "Was it meant to report on all the places he's visited in recent months, whom he called or wrote to, or to describe the situation in different regions, which also often depends on what kind of news one follows? Or was it about debating what our foreign policy stands for, what guides us, our strategy and priorities, and with whom we want to work?"

For ADR MP Fred Keup, Bettel created confusion regarding the official line on Palestine. "For a long time, you stood at this very podium defending Luxembourg's refusal to recognise Palestine, with reasons that still are valid today. And then, all of a sudden, you recognise Palestine together with other countries." Keup then denounced what he called a "zigzag" approach that failed to deliver clarity.
 
Pirate Party MP Sven Clement cautioned against downplaying global instability: "The world has become less stable, alliances less reliable, and multilateralism no longer works as it should. But that doesn't mean we give up; it means we must adapt. Luxembourg is small, but we’ve achieved a lot because we've been reliable and principled. Still, reliability alone isn't enough. We also need courage to say what's wrong, to draw consequences, to act, not just react.”

From The Left, David Wagner criticised how many parties handle the rise of right-wing populism: "It's a fatal mistake to think you can weaken far-right parties by adopting similar themes yourself. That has never stopped them – in the end, the original always wins. I hope the chancellor across the Moselle understands that too."

Wagner added that he would have liked to hear stronger language from Bettel regarding the US government.

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