Luxembourg

Nine months on, what’s happening with the 12 actions for Luxembourg?

Cost of living Luxembourg, Luxembourg, Newsletter - 2022-11-29 Print This Post

*Update 13.03.2023 non-Luxembourg nationals, please register to vote in the June municipal elections!*

*Update 19.02.2023, the latest Corporate Management Board minutes make no mention of the 12 actions. We’ve asked about it in the comments.* *Update 16.01.2023 the Caisse Nationale de Santé (CNS) has shared a hospital tariff list. Here are the PMO contact details for follow-up questions.*

In September 2022 it was announced that ‘progress was made‘ on the 12 actions proposed in March 2022 by the Heads of Administration (Chefs d’Administration) of EU institutions and bodies based in Luxembourg (CALux) to address the difficulties of recruiting staff. So, 9 months on, let’s look at the achievements declared. As ever, we check the sources; in this case, the minutes of the 29.09.2022 meeting (point 4) for the details: updates in italics. Continue reading Nine months on, what’s happening with the 12 actions for Luxembourg? →

Building closures in winter – ding, ding, ding, we have a winner

building closures, Luxembourg, Newsletter - 2022-11-07, Teleworking, Working conditions Print This Post

*Update 13.03.2023 here are the results of our June 2022 working time and hybrid working survey!**Update 14.12.2022 many buildings will be closed between Christmas and New Year. Here is a list. Here is  how to find and book a desk.* *Update 9.11.2022 a colleague got in touch to say that Berlaymont (BERL) is also to move to open space and hot-desking but the timeline is not yet fixed.*

Many rumours are currently spreading around the potential closure of Commission buildings during winter. It seems that we now have a clear winner: the Commission has decided not just to close the Hitec (HTC) building in Luxembourg temporarily, but to abandon it completely. The building, home to DG SANTE’s directorate B, is to be handed back to the owner by the end of the year, yes this current year. Continue reading Building closures in winter – ding, ding, ding, we have a winner →

Annual Salary Adjustment 2022 +4.5%

Cost of living Luxembourg, Local Agents, Luxembourg, Newsletter - 2022-11-07, Social Dialogue, Working conditions Print This Post

*Eurostat update to the Correction coefficient can be found on p. 34 of their report and it is now official on MyIntracomm (13.12.2022)*

*Update 08.11.2022 to clarify: this 4.5% is in addition to the general intermediate salary update announced in June 2022. For correction coefficient updates and SNEs please check below [1].* Almost everyone, unfortunately with the exception of our local agent (LA) colleagues, will receive a 4.5% salary increase, with retroactive effect from 1 July 2022, to maintain equality with the developments in the Member States. For more info, check the Eurostat Report on the 2022 annual update of remuneration and pensions of EU officials (28.10.2022). Continue reading Annual Salary Adjustment 2022 +4.5% →

Luxembourg: shiny happy people?

Cost of living Luxembourg, Luxembourg, Newsletter - 2022-10-14 Print This Post

*Update 29.10.2025 Luxembourg remains at 9th place in the latest edition of the World Happiness Report, a drop from 8th place in the 2021 edition. For reference, in the same period, Belgium has  gone from 20th to 14th. For context, a disproportionate part of that happiness measure for Luxembourg relies on gross domestic product (GDP) and it is debatable how well GDP reflects happiness in general. We note that since publishing this article in October 2022 the state average for our example rental went from EUR 1146 to EUR1281; almost a 12% increase in 3 years.*

Continue reading Luxembourg: shiny happy people? →

Commission to respect expected salary adjustment for some, but not for all

Cost of living Luxembourg, Local Agents, Luxembourg, New HR strategy, Newsletter - 2022-10-14, Social Dialogue, solidarity levy, Teleworking, Working conditions Print This Post

*Update 03.11.2022: Eurostat has published the final figures on the increase for Commission staff in its report.* Against the backdrop of increasing prices and rising inflation and during a period that is, for many staff, the summer break, the Council requested the Commission analyse how to further cut expenditure on staff, asking for a response by the end of September 2022. The Council was specifically targeting the salary updates intended to address inflation. Continue reading Commission to respect expected salary adjustment for some, but not for all →

Six months on, what´s happening with the 12 actions for Luxembourg?

Cost of living Luxembourg, Luxembourg, Newsletter - 2022-09-27 Print This Post

*Update 11.11.2022, where we are with this 9 months on.**Update 07.11.2022 we add a list of all available state aid in Luxembourg.* Original article: In March 2022 the Commission announced a list of actions from the Heads of Administration (Chefs d’Administration) of EU institutions and bodies based in Luxembourg (CALux) to address the difficulties of recruiting staff, a topic closely related to the cost of living in Luxembourg.  Note that this March announcement was before the current cost–of-living crisis could be factored in, meaning that Luxembourg is potentially even less attractive now than before. Oddly, the news of the 12 actions proposed to address the attractiveness of the Luxembourg site did not include the list of actions themselves, so we list them below. What announcements/events/conferences have you noticed on any of the items on the list? Please share them with us, MyIntracomm is rather quiet on this topic. Continue reading Six months on, what´s happening with the 12 actions for Luxembourg? →

It happened to me! Schrödinger’s reimbursement

Complementary coverage, Features, Health, Luxembourg, Newsletter - 2022-09-15, PMO, Working conditions Print This Post

We asked you to send us your stories and here is the first one. A Colleague was diagnosed with a precancerous lesion. Although probably benign, it was growing quickly, showing micro calcifications, opacities, ragged edges, and highly heterogeneous appearance. The doctors concluded that it must be removed as soon as possible as it could easily become a malignant tumour (if that was not already the case) especially considering the colleague’s age group. Continue reading It happened to me! Schrödinger’s reimbursement →

Housing prices in Luxembourg – the state takes action for renters

Cost of living Luxembourg, Luxembourg, Newsletter - 2022-09-15, Staff Regulations Reform Print This Post

*Update 03.07.2025 here’s an updated list of available state aid in Luxembourg and an older checklist: use what you’re entitled to!*

Original article: In the absence of any real action on the issue of Luxembourg housing costs from the EU institutions, assistance is now available from the Luxembourgish state for those on lower incomes (for Luxembourg(!)[1]) who are renting. The subsidy is between €200 and €400 per month, depending on take-home pay and how many children there are in your household. Looking at our salary scales, and depending on individual circumstances, this might help staff in all function groups and categories, but particularly our contract agent (CA), assistant (AST) and secretaries and clerks (AST/SC) colleagues. Continue reading Housing prices in Luxembourg – the state takes action for renters →

Housing prices in Luxembourg – the Commission is fully committed to doing nothing

Cost of living Luxembourg, Luxembourg, Newsletter - 2022-09-15, Staff Regulations Reform Print This Post

*Update 12.04.2024 confirms it will continue to rely on state aid for accommodation in Luxembourg here is a list of that aid.* Original article:  Colleagues in Luxembourg are well aware of the housing situation there: prices are so high that an increasing number of colleagues are unable to afford accommodation in or close to the city of Luxembourg. Generation 2004 has raised this point repeatedly and so we were very eager to see what (if any) measures the Commission might propose in its report to the Parliament and the Council on the application of the salary method (document COM(2022) 180 final). Calling this report a disappointment would be an understatement: dear Commissioner Hahn, if you don’t want to do anything for the colleagues in Luxembourg, just say so and don’t put up smokescreens. That would at least be an honest statement, instead of the current beating around the bush. Continue reading Housing prices in Luxembourg – the Commission is fully committed to doing nothing →

Outcome of the latest vote on electoral reform in Luxembourg

Elections, Electoral reform, Local Staff Committee, Luxembourg, Newsletter - 2022-09-15 Print This Post

So the road ahead for the Luxembourg local staff committee (LSC) for the November 2022 elections is set: there will indeed be a change to the current (2016) election rules. The proposed ‘fully proportional system’ (‘FPS’) will be used. A 66.6% majority is enough for a change of the rules: this proposal received 72%.

The first of two Luxembourg LSC general assemblies (GAs) was to vote on two different proposals to reform the electoral system for the next Luxembourg LSC elections. This follows hot on the heels of the two proposals from May 2022. Our analysis showed that both of these latest proposals were based on proportional systems, so they would undoubtedly offer certain improvements over the present winner-takes-all (‘majority’) system. Nevertheless, one of the latest proposals was unnecessarily complex and the other would benefit from a final review. So, we were in a dilemma: grab the opportunity to introduce a potentially flawed but more proportional system, even at the risk of running into problems with hastily stitched-together proposals, or refuse this ill-timed attempt, stay with the current rules for – given the time constraints – one last time, and leave the matter to the new LSC? We left the decision in your hands. Continue reading Outcome of the latest vote on electoral reform in Luxembourg →