Earlier this year, Bettel had informed a number of charities tasked with raising awareness of education that reforms were underway.
This reorganisation is necessary, according to the foreign minister, as the work for raising awareness was not the same for all organisations, with some preferring to be more active, while others organise workshops amongst their own members.
“When we talk about awareness-raising, it means that we need to inform the general public. We need to find the right approach to keep people who are already committed to the cause while trying to recruit a new audience. Four million euros will be used to fund these projects that are taking place in Luxembourg. The Caritas affair showed that part of the money had been wasted, so it is our duty to restore trust between citizens and charities,” Bettel explained. He insisted that clarity and rules were required to be developed alongside the charities.
LSAP MP Franz Fayot, Bettel’s predecessor at the Ministry of Cooperation, said this was a somewhat “narrow view”.
“The foreign minister seems to not understand how charities work,” he criticised. “If we want to share facts, raise awareness and invest in education, everyone should work together. This includes teams on the ground abroad, as well as people in public relations or communications, in order to accurately share information with everyone.”
The Greens also criticised the Ministry of Cooperation last April, demanding explanations for the reform. After Bettel’s second appearance before the parliamentary committee on Thursday, MP Djuna Bernard expressed more optimism:
“In recent months we had the impression that Mr Bettel provoked agitation rather than predictability. We are delighted that the situation seems to be stabilising thanks to increased dialogue with the sector, even though some aspects remain vague in the long term.”
The Greens say they are happy to continue working on the subject while having regular exchanges with charity representatives.
