News

Luxembourg has just successfully issued its first sovereign sustainability bond. Based on the new sustainability bond framework, presented on 2 September 2020, this €1.5 billion bond will contribute to finance and refinance sustainable projects.

Luxembourg becomes the first European country to launch a Sustainability Bond Framework. This innovative framework, which meets the highest market standards, is also the first in the world to fully comply with the new recommendations of the European taxonomy for green financing.

On 25 June 2020, Pierre Gramegna, Minister of Finance of Luxembourg formally submitted his candidacy for the office of the President of the Eurogroup.

Today, the Prime Minister, Minister of State, Xavier Bettel, has made a statement at the Chamber of Deputies about the Government's measures to face COVID-19. This was followed by a statement by the Minister of Health, Paulette Lenert.

In the context of the crisis linked to the spread of COVID-19, the Government has decided to enact a series of fiscal measures to support legal entities and natural persons. The main objective of these measures is to alleviate the financing and liquidity needs of companies and self-employed persons who are heavily impacted by the current economic restrictions.

On 10 February 2020, the Prime Minister, Minister of State, Xavier Bettel, received Michel Barnier, Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom, at the Château de Senningen. The Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Jean Asselborn, and the Minister of Finance, Pierre Gramegna, also attended the meeting.

The economic mission to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), chaired by HRH the Hereditary Grand Duke and led by the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Economy, Étienne Schneider, and in the presence of the Minister of Finance, Pierre Gramegna, concluded with a day dedicated to Luxembourg's presence at Expo 2020 Dubai, which will take place from 20 October 2020 to 10 April 2021.

On the second day of the economic mission, chaired by H.R.H. the Hereditary Grand Duke, the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Economy, Etienne Schneider, signed with the Minister of the Economy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, a cooperation agreement establishing a regular and quasi-institutional economic dialogue.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Luxembourg both pursue a policy of economic diversification: While the Grand Duchy wishes to become less dependent on the financial sector, the UAE aims to gradually reduce the share of hydrocarbons in its national economy.

At the UN Climate Change Conference in Madrid, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the European Investment Bank, the EU bank, organised a side-event to discuss challenges and solutions to scale up private finance for climate action.

On 2 December 2019, the Minister of Finance, Pierre Gramegna, led a delegation of more than 120 representatives of the Luxembourg financial sector to Milan as part of a financial mission organised by Luxembourg For Finance (LFF).

On 18 November 2019, the Luxembourg Future Fund SICAV-SIF (LFF) organised its first Annual Networking Event showcasing the developments of the Luxembourg Future Fund and providing an opportunity to connect policy makers, fund managers, innovative Blue Chips, academics, current and future entrepreneurs, incubators and accelerators, and other key actors of the Luxembourg’s ecosystem.

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the EIB have committed to working ever more closely together on two of their joint priorities: the development of the microfinance sector in ACP countries and the fight against climate change.

The Islamic Development Bank has today announced it has created an innovative Sustainable Finance Framework to utilise funds exclusively for green projects in IsDB Member Countries through and catalyse the role of the Bank’s preferred financing tool – the Sukuk bond.

On 9 September 2019, Pierre Gramegna, Minister of Finance of Luxembourg, and J. Randolph Evans, U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg, announced that the respective ratification procedures of the Protocol amending the Double Taxation Convention have been completed, thus bringing the Protocol into force.