CURRENT AFFAIRS
New legal status for au pairs
Jessica Theis/jess.lu
Parliament has passed an amendment to the law governing the hiring of au pairs. The law, passed almost unanimously in the Chamber of deputies on February 8, provides stricter rules for families who want to hire residential help. Under the new law, au pairs must be between 18 and 30 years old and the family must consist of at least one child under the age of 13. In addition, children under the age of six must be in some sort of day care facility. The au pair contract cannot last more than one year, and the au pair must be given at least three free evenings per week, in addition to a whole day off per week and two more days off per month. The host family must provide single room lodging and food for the au pair, and should also pay for language lessons and allow them time for “cultural improvement”. The agreement also foresees pocket money for the au pair that should amount to at least a quarter of the minimum wage. Full details of the law and how to apply for an approval and draft a placement agreement for an au pair can be found on the Service National de la Jeunesse’s dedicated website. www.accueil-aupair.lu
Juncker supports investigation into Jewish deportations
"This is a catastrophe for Europe"
Plans to revamp the Josy Barthel national football stadium will do away with the running track that circles the football pitch, says sports minister Romain Schneider. The stadium has long needed a make-over to comply with UEFA regulations and initially the government had hoped to build an entirely new stadium at a greenfield site at Livange, in the commune of Roeser. But those plans were abandoned after strong opposition and controversy. That the Josy Barthel stadium should lose its running track is ironic, given that it is named after Luxembourg’s sole Olympic summer games gold medal winner, who was victorious in the 1,500 metres in Helsinki in 1952. The renovation is part of a €100 million investment in sports facilities over the next five years.
David Laurent/Wili (archives)
MAE
Prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker has thrown his weight behind an investigation into the role played by the Luxembourg administrative commission in the deportation of Jews from the Grand Duchy during the Nazi occupation in WWII. The five-man administrative commission was established by the government on the eve of the Nazi invasion of Luxembourg in May 1940 and was charged with defending Luxembourg interests during the occupation. Juncker has said that there is a lack of historical clarity about the period--the commission was disbanded on December 23, 1940. Its president, formerly the general secretary of the government, was removed from his post in October 1940 and deported to Germany himself. But the commission had tried to influence the Nazi leadership in Luxembourg and when ordered to identify Jewish schoolchildren, passed on the order to the communes. Juncker says he thinks it is “advisable and necessary” to conduct more thorough research.
No track at new stadium
Foreign minister Jean Asselborn’s verdict on the Italian election results
Football corruption
Strasbourg TGV
Facebook racists
France Football reports that some of the alleged bribes paid by the Qatari FA to an Argentinean FIFA member for his support of its successful 2022 World Cup bid may have been deposited in a Luxembourg bank.
Train journey times to Strasbourg from Luxembourg will be cut to 85 minutes from the current 130 minutes when the TGV Est line opens in 2016. The €2.1 billion project has received support from the European Investment Bank.
Three Facebook users who made racist comments on the social media site were given suspended prison sentences of six months in February. They made comments about asylum seekers being given housing in Kehlen.
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