GOVERNMENT PETITIONS – Fourteen new petitions go online on the Chamber of Deputies' website today. They include calls for a motorway vignette in Luxembourg, and for Belgium to lose the money it receives from Luxembourg's cross-border workers' fund, because Belgium is bringing in its own road toll. Others want driving theory lessons in school timetables, free heated toilets for bus drivers at every terminus, and tax relief on AI subscriptions used for work. A petition needs 5,500 signatures to be debated in parliament.
WORKING TIMES – Employers want to reopen talks on working time. It follows Labour Minister Marc Spautz saying that flexible arrangements, such as four 10-hour days instead of five, should only be possible under a collective agreement. The issue will be discussed again on Friday at the employment committee.
ELECTRIC VEHICLE SUBSIDIES – Pre-financing for the "Mobility and Charging Points" climate bonus will apply from 1 January next year, as the electric vehicle subsidy scheme is extended to mid-2030. Environment Minister Serge Wilmes announced the details yesterday. Subsidies of up to €6,000 remain for new electric cars, vans and vehicles with seven or more seats, and €1,500 for used ones. Up to €40,000 is available for shared charging systems in blocks of flats. The aim is for electric vehicles to make up 49% of the national fleet by 2030.
EPC SUMMIT UKRAINE – Talks between Ukraine and Russia in Abu Dhabi have ended without a breakthrough on peace, though Moscow and Kyiv did agree to swap prisoners. The American envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff now plan to travel to see President Putin, partly to try to bring European countries into the negotiations.
Kushner says Europe must have a seat at the table. The delegation will then fly to Dublin to brief President Zelensky. Leaders are gathering there for a European Political Community summit, with Luxembourg's Prime Minister, Luc Frieden, among them. An informal EU summit follows on Friday.
POLAND MARCH – About 250,000 people joined a nationalist march through Warsaw on Wednesday. Organisers claim the figure was half a million. The marchers, who included far-right activists, took to the streets on Poland's Independence Day, days after a deadly attack in Krakow.
US MIDTERMS – Democrat Scott Colom has won the US Senate race in Mississippi, delivering a shock victory for the party in a deeply conservative state that has elected Republicans for decades. He becomes the first Black person elected to the Senate from Mississippi in more than 140 years.
SPAIN PROTESTS – Police fired tear gas as sporadic clashes broke out in Madrid and Barcelona yesterday, after huge protests across Spain over housing costs, during the country's first nationwide 24-hour strike since 2012. Spain votes in an early general election on 29 November.
FOOTBALL – Matchday five of the Nations League gets under way today. Italy host France at the San Siro in Milan. The Czech Republic are playing against Spain, and England take on Croatia at Wembley, where Jude and Jobe Bellingham could play together for the Three Lions for the first time.
The action continues on Friday. At the Stade de Luxembourg, Luxembourg take on Estonia. Elsewhere, the Netherlands face Greece and Serbia play host to Germany. There are more matches on Saturday.
Mauricio Pochettino is reportedly set to become Manchester United's next manager. The Argentine is said to have reached a verbal agreement on Wednesday to replace Michael Carrick, after United's worst start to a season in 40 years. The move would end his two-year spell as USA coach.
After some early fog, it'll be a mostly cloudy day, but dry. Some brighter spells are possible later, from the north. There will be some wind, too. Temperatures start with 3–5°C in the morning, reaching a high of 11°C in the afternoon.
________________________________________________
Stay connected: Tune in to RTL Today Radio, now on 93.3 FM and DAB+, and be sure to catch our full bulletin on the hour, every hour, and headlines at half past the hour.
