Mouvement Ecologique in dialogue

Over the past week, the Mouvement Ecologique has had a number of stimulating discussions with representatives of ministries and political parties.

Discussion with the Ministry of the Environment

on optimising the compensation measures

Improvements to the Nature Protection Law were discussed in a meeting with the Ministry of the Environment. The main aim was to optimise the compensation system. In recent years, there have been quite heated discussions about certain provisions of the Act, as they were considered too cumbersome and in some cases inappropriate. Constructive improvements have been discussed with the Ministry, including how the municipalities can be more closely involved and how the workload can be reduced, especially for smaller construction projects. Environment Minister Joëlle Welfring submitted a legislative project with some amendments to the law before the election date. The Mouvement Ecologique will take a detailed position on this under the new government.

Meeting at the Ministry of State

on improved access to information

(law on “administration transparente et ouverte”)

The Mouvement Ecologique has been campaigning for better access to information for years, even decades. In 2018, a law to this effect was passed, which the Mouvement Ecologique described more as an “information prevention law”. When the law was voted on in the parliament, it was stated that an evaluation should take place after two years in order to make any necessary improvements. In September, an interesting exchange took place with the Ministry of State responsible for the law. The responsible official in the Ministry, Jeff Feller, informed the Mouvement Ecologique that the Ministry was planning significant improvements (e.g. the lifting of the restriction to “documents administratifs” etc.). According to the statement, the ministry would no longer present a reform project, but would formulate suggestions for the next government as part of a “note au formateur”.

Discussions with the Ministry of Finance

Two stimulating meetings were held directly with the Ministry of Finance. The first meeting focussed on the study on environmentally harmful subsidies, which was commissioned by the Ecological Social Market Economy Association (FÖS) on behalf of the Mouvement Ecologique. In the presence of one of the authors of the study, Kai Schlegelmilch, the importance of tackling the issue of environmentally harmful subsidies was discussed (you can find the study at https://www.meco.lu/de/blog/documentcenter/den-ofbau-vun-emweltschiedleche-staatleche-subventiounen-eng-fro-vun-der-po-litescher-glafwierdegkeet/). In a further meeting, which was also attended by Finance Minister Yuriko Backes, the focus was on “green budgeting” and sustainable tax reform. In the opinion of the Mouvement Ecologique, it is essential that the Ministry of Finance devotes more attention in the coming legislative period to the issue of how budgeting can be made more efficient (i.e. less expenditure that is counterproductive from an ecological perspective) and how new priorities can be set in terms of an ecological transition and greater social justice.

Discussion with the political parties

It should also be mentioned that the Mouvement Ecologique has had a number of meetings with political parties in recent weeks to discuss proposals for the national elections.

09.10.2023