Luxembourg’s Chamber of Deputies has voiced concern over the recent spate of drone sightings in the country, with opposition members criticising both the lack of information available and what they describe as insufficient communication from the authorities. The issue was discussed at a closed-door meeting of the Conference of Presidents on Krautmaart, held just before the government’s official press conference. However, few details emerged from the meeting, leaving many questions unanswered.
In the wake of the incidents, lawmakers are demanding greater clarity. “What kind of drones? We do not know. How many? We do not know. Where are they coming from? Why are they here? We do not know”, said Fred Keup, leader of the Alternative Democratic Reform Party (ADR) parliamentary group.
Having information or not is one thing, and sharing information publicly is another. But coherent communication by the authorities should look different, criticised the LSAP's Taina Bofferding: "It doesn't help that we have an army head saying people don't need to worry, as the intention could be just to cause unrest and concern. But then we have the High Commission for National Protection, leading this in a completely closed-off manner and giving no information whatsoever."
Bofferding acknowledged that the authorities’ actions so far have been appropriate, but questioned whether Luxembourg is adequately prepared for such threats in general.
Sam Tanson, Member of Parliament for The Greens (Déi Gréng), raised further concerns about the vulnerability of the country’s critical infrastructure. Marc Baum of The Left (Déi Lénk) focused on the broader question of Luxembourg’s ability to respond to emerging risks. “Why is it that a Prime Minister who has made such a public commitment to resilience now finds himself, just months later, having to admit to the public that our country is not resilient at all?” he asked.
With regard to the drones themselves, the government says it is accelerating plans to install countermeasures and will purchase the necessary equipment sooner than originally planned.
Democratic Party (DP) group leader Gilles Baum stressed the need for Luxembourg to adapt quickly: “We may have to get used to this happening more frequently in future, and we must strengthen our systems to become more resilient. The police are already at work, and I believe we should let them do their job.”
The CSV's Laurent Zeimet echoed this sentiment and warned that an active intervention could have become a risk: "If a drone is shot down, it will fall somewhere, and we aren't talking about small toy drones here, privately owned ones, but big drones. If they fall down, they could cause damage."
Zeimet also rejected criticism of the authorities’ communication, insisting that their approach has been appropriate given the circumstances.
