A few months ago, the Joint Compensation Fund for the General Pension Scheme announced that weapons manufacturers Rheinmetall and Hensoldt would be removed from its red list of excluded companies.
In response, the Green Party (Déi Gréng) submitted a parliamentary question seeking clarification on the decision’s rationale and criteria. Details were provided Wednesday morning during a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee for Healthcare and Social Security.
By law, the Joint Compensation Fund is required to make only sustainable and ethical investments. The red list designates companies in which the Fund is prohibited from investing – a category that, until recently, included Rheinmetall and Hensoldt.
Green Party MP Djuna Bernard explained to our colleagues from RTL Radio that Rheinmetall had initially been blacklisted due to its use of phosphor in weapon production. However, after discontinuing the “problematic” substance, the company was deemed eligible for investment again.
Bernard noted that MPs received assurances that the Fund does not intend to adopt a broader strategy of investing in arms manufacturers – a clarification she described as “reassuring”. This information was also confirmed by MP Françoise Kemp of the Christian Social People’s Party (CSV).
Meanwhile, MP Mars di Bartolomeo of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers’ Party (LSAP), a co-founder of the peace initiative “Aktioun fir de Fridden” 40 years ago, cautioned against normalising arms investments within the Fund. He warned that once the arms industry gains momentum, it becomes difficult to halt its expansion.
