Country report non-discrimination : transposition and implementation at national level of Council Directives 2000/43 and 2000/78 : Luxembourg [2024]

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 - 47 % on average. In Luxembourg City, the capital, over 70.8 % of all inhabitants are foreigners. The countries with the highest number of immigrants in Luxembourg are Portugal, France, Italy, Belgium and Germany. The Portuguese are the second-largest group of immigrants in the country, behind Luxembourgers, with a population of about 93 700, comprising 14.5 % of the population. That group is followed by French (7.6 %), Italian (3.7 %), Belgian (3 %) and German (2 %) nationals. Around 6 % of the foreigners are from other European Union nations, and 21 % of the foreigners are from non-EU nations. In general, relations between Luxembourg nationals and immigrants are smooth; incidents of racism and discrimination are, in the author's opinion, rather low. Nonetheless, 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). Usually, a bill has to be adopted a second time by Parliament at a second reading at least three months later in order to become law, unless the Council of State does not formally oppose the wording of the draft bill. Nevertheless, the Council of State may exempt Parliament from the second constitutional vote.