Hahn’s comments follow an Administrative Court decision maintaining Luxembourg’s exclusion of single male asylum seekers from automatic accommodation, which was met with criticism from refugee rights organisations on Friday.
Currently, 98% of the beds in Luxembourgish refugee shelters are full.
Former foreign minister Jean Asselborn introduced waiting lists back in 2023 to address the bed shortage, triggering a critical response from Luxembourgish rights groups. A number of associations took the issue to court in November 2023, but the case was thrown out on 14 July this year due to form issues. Max Hahn said his predecessor’s scheme would be upheld out of necessity:
“The waiting list helps us to fulfil the task of ensuring we can guarantee a dignified reception for applicants for international protection, as well as Ukrainians with temporary status. There are still many arriving here, to name a few figures: 220 people every month, or 7 to 8 each day, applying for asylum in Luxembourg. It is an enormous challenge. On the other hand, we have 170 to 180 people departing, meaning we have 40 beds to compensate for and that renders this task difficult.”
Hahn went on to defend Asselborn’s waitlist policy, saying it was necessary to set priorities.
“We have to prioritise families with children, women or vulnerable people. Who gets put on the waiting list? These are single, non-vulnerable men who could have been entitled to a bed in another EU member state, but chose to apply in Luxembourg.”
The Grand Duchy is not an isolated case, but Hahn says it is in a better position compared to other countries in terms of the number of beds per capita. Luxembourg currently has 8,200 beds.
“Luxembourg cannot clean up everything that other EU countries are no longer doing. I’m currently making the rounds of our parish councils, looking at municipalities to see how much they are helping or what I could do to motivate them to make greater efforts, either in terms of building new shelters or making existing unused buildings available for use.”
The minister declined to comment on the ongoing court cases. A second trial is currently underway, involving an individual asylum seeker from Niger who filed a complaint as he was not granted a space in a shelter. The judge ruled in his favour, but the State will appeal the ruling. This will not help create additional beds, said Hahn, as a collective effort was required.
Full interview available in Luxembourgish:
Luxembourg court upholds controversial asylum seeker housing rules
