Minister Haagen explained that the government and the European Union want to help those suffering most from the energy and resource problems with “targeted” measures.
However, the European Commission is still debating two specific points in the ecological regulations, which should help farmers with the current challenges.
Like all the other EU member states, Luxembourg also has to wait for a response to its national strategy, which the Government Council already approved in January, explained Minister Haagen. Once the European Commission has provided a response, the politician will sit down again with all actors from the agricultural sector.
Minister Haagen expressed doubt that everything will be in order by the beginning of next year, but said that spring should still be realistic. In any case, a transition period has to be ensured, he underlined.
The Greens politician denied accusations that his Ministry and the Ministry for the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development fail to communicate. He conveyed that he has regular meetings with Minister Welfring and that they always find ways to compromise in the best interest of agriculture and environment.
Asked about the deficit of the National Health Fund (CNS), Minister Haagen replied that the “CNS is not a bank”. An increased offer of services naturally brings about increased costs, but the situation will be monitored, ensured the politician. He also drew attention to the fact that the reserves are still twice as high as the minimum threshold of 10% of yearly expenses.
The situation of the pension fund is believed to be similar. Confronted with the projection of expenses overtaking revenue, Minister Haagen noted that the technical report envisions the development over the next ten years, but that another evaluation will be done after five.
Should the current system turn out to be no longer feasible, then premiums might have to be increased. Nevertheless, services will not have to suffer in any way, concluded Minister Haagen.
