Yearbook 2017
Luxembourg. According to Countryaah.com, Luxembourg’s Minister of Infrastructure François Bausch announced in January that a legal process will be pursued against the Volkswagen car ticket following the so-called diesel street scandal in 2015, which revealed cheating with the cars’ diesel engines. See ABBREVIATIONFINDER for frequently used acronyms and abbreviations related to as well as country profile of Luxembourg.
Two French whistle-blowers (Antoine Deltour and Raphael Halet) in the so-called Luxleaks business in 2014 had their sentences mitigated. Deltour was sentenced, from 12 months in prison, to six months in prison and Halet escaped in prison for nine months. They were both convicted of stealing and leaking documents from the PWC audit firm. These documents showed that Luxembourg has given over 300 large companies favorable tax treaties.
Luxembourg, the richest country in the EU, emerged during the year in connection with discussions on where the UK’s banks should take the road when implementing Brexit. According to Bloomberg News Agency, multilingualism and the high level of education and cheap airline tickets to London speak for a move there. What speaks against is a problematic traffic situation. Luxembourg was also one of the countries that showed interest in taking over the EU’s banking authority EBA when moving from London in connection with the EU exit. However, it was Paris who got the honor to take over EBA.
Education, finances, religion. – Politically Luxembourg is a grand duchy, ruled by a hereditary monarchy in the house of Nassau. The Crown appoints the Council of State of 15 members; legislative power belongs to the Chamber of Deputies, made up of 54 members. Luxembourg has diplomatic representatives only in Berlin, Brussels, The Hague, Paris, London and Washington: in the other states the Grand Duchy is represented by Holland, according to the convention of 6-7 January 1880.
Primary education is compulsory for all children between the ages of 6 and 13. There are nearly a thousand public primary schools with a total of about 30,000 pupils. Middle education is given in different types of schools and institutes: in the gymnasiums of Luxembourg, Diekirch, Echternach, in the girls’ high schools in Luxembourg and in Esch, in the schools for technical education (industrial and commercial schools in Luxembourg and Esch), in the mining schools, located in the southern industrial area (in Rumelange, Pétange, Differdange, Dudelange, Esch); there is also a school of agriculture in Ettelbrück; a school for craftsmen in Luxembourg and some regular schools.
The ordinary income and expenses expected for the last four financial years are as follows:
As of December 31, 1931, the public debt amounted to 551 million francs. The monetary unit (law of 19 December 1929) is the franc containing the same weight in fine gold as the Belgian franc. Following the entry into force of the Economic Union Agreement with Belgium, Belgian coins and banknotes have free circulation in the Grand Duchy.
According to the 1930 census, 96% of the residents are Catholic. Protestants are 4549 (1.52% of the entire population), Jews 2242 (0.75%) of the population. Overall, these three cults represent 98.27% of all the residents of the Grand Duchy. As regards the geographical distribution of the various cults, it is interesting to note how the absolute marjoram of the Jewish element lives in the canton of Luxembourg city (1395 individuals out of a total of 2242), while the Protestant element is widespread above all in the canton of Esch (2467 people). Catholics depend on the bishop of Luxembourg (apostolic vicariate established in 1833; diocese in 1870).