This week, the German interior ministry announced the border controls would be extended for six more months, until September. Gloden was informed via email on Valentine’s Day – not the most “loving declaration” he receieved that day, he added.
The CSV minister told RTL the Luxembourgish government would not file a complaint at the European Court of Justice, but Luxembourg would continue to campaign against the German border controls. Thus far, they have managed to achieve some improvements in the dialogue, such as abolishing border controls on the small border crossings. Pressure is also rising with Germany’s other neighbours; Austria, for example, has opted to lift their border checks.
Gloden expressed disappointment at the EU Commission, as it has still not responded to Luxembourg’s complaints after 120 days. In this, the minister said the Commission is not doing its duty as “guardians of the treaties”. The German border controls are not “legal or legitimate” as they are not proportional. Gloden intends to raise the issue in Brussels next month.
At the start of the year, Gloden presented a bill on the implementation of the European asylum and migration pact, which will be completed by June. The opposition expressed criticism on the national implementation as it goes further than the EU directive, with the LSAP sharing their concerns in a press conference on Monday. But Gloden refutes these criticisms. “The LSAP does not have a monopoly on the heart,” he declared, explaining that the new immigration policies were constructed with “heart and mind”. He also pointed out that the pact had been negotiated when the LSAP’s Jean Asselborn was foreign minister, before Gloden’s time.
Luxembourg is “among the leading countries” when it comes to managing immigration, Gloden said, as he rejected the claim that the Grand Duchy is knowingly being more restrictive in order to set a precedent. The new procedure for minors coming to the country without their parents was introduced following explicit demands by Unicef and Okaju (the ombudsman for children and young people). Therefore, it was wrong to claim that the CSV and DP government does not respect minors, he said.
Following a knife attack in the capital’s Gare district last week, Gloden revoked a suspect’s refugee status before being legally convicted. The minister said the presumption of innocence is a major principle of criminal law, but his own ministerial competences lie in administrative duties. People who come to this country will be subjected to the full might of the law if they commit a crime, like in this instance. The suspect has the opportunity to appeal the revocation of his refugee status. Currently he is in pre-trial detention in Luxembourg, where he will be tried and then be made to leave the country once he has been sentenced.
Gloden said the Grand Duchy had received an increasing amount of protection requests from Ukrainians since the summer, likely due to developments within the Ukrainian army. Recently, the Interior Ministry extended the specific protection status for Ukrainian refugees until 4 March 2027. Gloden said Luxembourg would continue to support Ukraine, but that he found it “strange” that on one hand “we are massively supporting Ukraine [financially] and yet all the people who should be fighting for Ukraine are leaving for EU member states”. Other countries then have to do their best to house the Ukrainian refugees. This observation is allegedly shared by France and Germany, he said. “Who can rebuild the country afterwards other than Ukrainians themselves?” Gloden asked.
E Freideg de Moien waren d’Grenzkontrollen heiriwwer an Däitschland Thema an der Emissioun “Invité vun der Redaktioun”.
