Luxembourg’s Prime Minister, Xavier Bettel, gave a speech in the European Parliament on Wednesday 19 April, in keeping with his country’s pro-European tradition, calling for greater protection of minorities, respect for the free movement of people and goods within the Single Market and respect for the Rule of law and fundamental values.
“The fundamental rights of citizens must remain the backbone of this European Union. We cannot procrastinate on this point”, stressed Mr Bettel. In particular, he welcomed the fact that 15 Member States support the European Commission’s referral of Hungary’s ‘anti-LGBT propaganda’ law to the Court of Justice of the European Union (see EUROPE 13158/14).
“If anyone in this room thinks that a person is homosexual because he or she has watched television or listened to a song, it proves that he or she has not understood anything! The hardest thing for a homosexual is to accept himself”, said Mr Bettel, himself a homosexual, calling for more rights to protect minorities. He added: “Stigmatising and saying that it is the fault of education, of culture, is contrary to what the EU is about in terms of openness and tolerance”.
The political leader also praised the mechanism making the granting of EU funds conditional on respect for the Rule of law in the EU, activated at the end of 2022 against Hungary (see EUROPE 13082/2), which he said “may not” have seen the light of day without the involvement of the European Parliament.
The Luxembourg Liberal, who will be a candidate for the parliamentary elections this autumn, stressed the need for Europeans to “remain open to the world, at a time when protectionism is more of a reflex” in response to the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic or migration. Do we, the European Union, want to give the message that the political will is to rebuild walls when, for me, Europe is about destroying the walls that existed on our continent”, he questioned.
Mr Bettel advocated openness, but without being naive. This applies to the management of investment flows into the EU. He also came back on the issue of European strategic autonomy, following the strong reactions to recent statements by French President Emmanuel Macron (see EUROPE 131159/2).
Strategic autonomy, he said, “does not mean protectionism, nor does it mean distancing ourselves from our partners or equidistance vis-à-vis our allies”. He called for “diversification of supply chains”, particularly in the field of critical raw materials, with partners who share the same values, to achieve the energy transition and “free ourselves from fossil fuels”.
On the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, Luxembourg’s Prime Minister said that the EU's military, financial and humanitarian response has made it “a geopolitical player”. Europe’s strength lies in unity, he repeated, convinced that, on their own, states do not represent much. Quoting Robert Schuman, he called for “creative efforts” to sanction the Russian aggressor and to use the enlargement policy to accompany Ukraine, and other candidate countries, on the road to EU membership.
Nearly 5,000 Ukrainians who fled their war-torn country have settled in Luxembourg since late February 2022.
Asked by the press about the new sanctions imposed by the European Parliament on his compatriot Monica Semedo (Renew Europe), Mr Bettel said that any act of harassment should be punished (see EUROPE 13164/22). (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)