Franziska Peschel

Luxembourg's pensioners are among Europe's youngest and wealthiest, with the average retiree aged 62. The country managed to sustain the minimum pension of €2,351 thanks to a constant influx of foreign workers. But the party may soon be over. As population growth stalls and the pension reserve fund …

The Spanish do it. The Italians do it. The French do it. And the Luxembourgers? Even more. Bubbles. The Spanish drink Cava, Italians sip Prosecco, the French enjoy Champagne, and Luxembourgers pour Crémant on any occasion. But why does it have a distinct name? For a long time, sparkling wine across …

Schengen – the deal that lets Europeans travel freely – was signed in a tiny Luxembourgish village in 1985. 40 years later, Luxembourg calls out Germany for going against its spirit. If Berlin keeps its border checks in place beyond April, the Luxembourgish government threatens to take the case to t…

Luxembourg's women's rights groups celebrate a first victory this year: The government approved this month a bill to eliminate the three-day mandatory reflection period for abortions and ban virginity tests and certificates. Virginity tests and certificates are practices rooted in harmful gender nor…

Yet another Luxembourg-based company faces allegations of involvement in the deaths of people abroad. Steel supplier Ternium faces criticism after two Mexican activists who campaigned against an iron ore mine owned by the company disappeared. The controversy follows a deadly accident in a Luxembourg…

If you're dreaming of a cushy retirement in Europe, Luxembourg might seem like the perfect spot: it has the highest pension in the European Union. On average, pensioners receive around 72% of their average wage, with a minimum of €2,244 per month for those who have contributed to the economy for 40 …

Luxembourg is one of Europe‘s top destinations for those looking to hide dirty money. Travelling on a budget of several million with questionable origins? Try Luxembourg, where anti-money laundering policies still seem stuck in pilot phase. In the latest case, UK police presented evidence linking ac…

”Open hearts, open borders”, reads a placard held by one of the protesters on the Schengen Bridge. Hundreds of people crossed Luxembourg's borders with France and Germany to march to the town of Schengen last weekend, protesting France and Germany's border controls. In total, eight Schengen members …

Bonjour, Moien, Hello or even Olá – you never know which greeting you'll get when you walk into a café in Luxembourg. This tiny multilingual country is always buzzing with debates over language hierarchy. Just last week, right-wing MEP Fernand Kartheiser brought this debate to Brussels by addressing…

While press freedom is steadily declining across Europe, journalists are fighting back. In Luxembourg, this battle has now reached the courts, with the journalists' association ALJP suing the interior ministry for not disclosing documents on Luxembourg's involvement in EU border agency Frontex opera…

A recent report by an independent research organisation shows that Luxembourg-based steel giants ArcelorMittal and Ternium are responsible for thousands of deaths due to air pollution generated by their factories in Kazakhstan and Brazil. The toxins have caused heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, an…

”How to use the tools of democracy to undermine it” could be the title of a populism playbook. While democracies promote political participation by providing tools like petitions and referendums, these same tools can be abused to undermine two core democratic principles: equality and the protection …

Is Luxembourg violating children’s rights? As the United Nations are assessing this question, they urged Luxembourg to suspend the deportation of a Syrian family. Luxembourg planned to deport the family to Greece where most family members had received refugee status. One child, however, was born aft…

The Luxembourg-based vodka producer Stoli Group is subject to Russian sanctions. Russian prosecutors have labelled the company as an extremist organisation. Stoli boss Yuri Shefler's assets in Russia have been frozen along with a distillery owned by a subsidiary of his second Luxembourg-based spirit…

On Monday, Luxembourg's prime minister, Luc Frieden, made a call to India, emphasising the strong collaboration between the two countries. Frieden and India's right-wing, Hindu nationalist prime minister Narendra Modi reiterated their commitment to strengthening commercial ties between the two count…

On Sunday, Luxembourg’s monarch, Grand Duke Henri, announced that he would hand over his governing duties to his son, the Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, who would become a prince regent. Grand Duke Henri will remain head of state, but the announcement is the first step toward his official abdicati…

For the first time, a Russian oligarch is seeking compensation for sanctions imposed on him over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Mikhail Fridman, one of Russia’s wealthiest individuals, is demanding nearly €15 billion in damages from Luxembourg – the estimated value of his holdings frozen in the count…

Manchester City player Erling Haaland, one of the best football strikers in the world, was recently spotted wandering the streets in Luxembourg City, to the surprise of many. The reason quickly came to light: the Norwegian star and his father have recently established four companies in Luxembourg, a…

Luxembourg’s largest media company and sole national TV station, RTL, faces criticism. The activist art collective Richtung22 alleges inconsistencies in RTL’s operations, such as hidden ads, plagiarism and violations of public service duties. In a satirical theatre play, the group also highlights un…

A major nuclear accident at France’s Cattenom power plant could contaminate the entire surface of Luxembourg, according to a recent report commissioned by Greenpeace Luxembourg. The four reactors are located just eight kilometres from Luxembourg’s southern border, a proximity that has been causing t…

Only 15% of EU citizens living in Luxembourg have signed up to vote in the European election. The share of non-Luxembourgish EU citizens registering as voters has only increased slowly over the past decades. In international statistics however, Luxembourg appears to be performing incredibly in terms…

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) wants to repatriate stolen art to Luxembourg. The artwork was allegedly stolen from a Luxembourg museum during World War II. The FBI’s Art Crime Team has issued a call for assistance to the Luxembourg residents trying to find the owner of the painting. The s…

Speaking about money is still taboo in Luxembourg, despite the finance industry's significant role in the economy. Income is traditionally seen as a private matter – often to employers' advantage. In many employment contracts, confidentiality clauses prevent employees from revealing their wages or d…