Country report : non-discrimination : Luxembourg 2017

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is characterised by cultural diversity and the common use of several languages. Its population is quite homogeneous, with the vast majority of foreigners being European Union citizens, most of whom are Catholics by religion. The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg has one of the highest proportions of foreigners in Europe - more than 43 % on average. In Luxembourg City, the capital, over 50 % of all inhabitants are foreigners. The largest groups of foreigners are Portuguese citizens. In general, relations between different ethnic and racial groups are smooth; incidents of racism and discrimination are rather low. Some intolerance does indeed exist, although violent xenophobic incidents are rare. In institutional terms, Luxembourg is a constitutional monarchy, in which the Grand Duke has only very limited powers, as conferred by the Constitution. There is a unicameral Parliament, known as the Chambre des Députés, which votes on draft bills. All bills must be submitted to the Council of State for its opinion, as well as to the professional chambers. These chambers are public institutions. Their mission is to defend the concerns of a specific professional category (employees, farmers, the self-employed, civil servants and so on). For a bill to be passed, the Council of State must exempt the Parliament of the second constitutional vote. This means that a bill has to be adopted a second time by the Parliament in a second reading, at least three months later, unless the Council of State does not formally oppose the wording of the draft bill. The latter is the usual scenario.