Minister for Foreign Affairs Xavier Bettel has expressed frustration over the scheduling of the next EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting for 23 June – Luxembourg’s National Day. The meeting even had to be relocated to Brussels due to the unavailability of the European Conference Centre in Kirchberg during Luxembourg’s celebrations.
During a Thursday press briefing on Luxembourg’s new Palestine policy, Bettel responded to a journalist’s question about the upcoming Council agenda by first addressing the timing. “I regret that there’s a meeting on 23 June,” he stated, adding “I have a feeling they would never organise one on 14 July [France’s National Day].”
Despite Luxembourg’s request to reschedule, the Council declined to change the date. Bettel reiterated his position: “My gut feeling tells me there will never be a Council meeting on 14 July,” emphasising what he perceives as unequal treatment of national holidays.
