Delano Mai 2013

may 2013

understanding Luxembourg

Current affairs • Business • Lifestyle

Small nations games

Is Luxembourg ready?

Bank secrecy

Will it matter?

the gigs are alright

Patrick Bartz Den Atelier co-founder and booker

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EDITORIAL

People Tree

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Food for thought when shopping

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Text by Duncan Roberts

T

he summer sales start on June 29 and Luxembourg retailers expect shoppers to flood their stores looking for bargains.

Shopping is a major leisure activity, with some surveys suggesting that on average people spend between 30 and 59 minutes per day purchasing things depending on geographical location and sex.

But while luxury brand stores are very much prevalent in the Grand Duchy, and especially the city centre in the capital, there is a growing tendency to shop at cheap discount stores and via the internet. In these austere times, finding a bargain is almost considered a moral obligation.

But what price do we really pay for cheap clothes and other goods? The answer came last month with the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in an industrial suburb of Dhaka, Bangladesh, that killed over 900 garment factory workers. It is no secret that international brands use cheap labour in Asia and Africa to make their products--and often minors are among those sweating away for long hours in unsavoury conditions.

Fairtrade Luxembourg has been hosting a series of events over the past few weeks aimed at raising awareness of the problem, and if any good comes out of the tragedy in Bangladesh it may be that brands and consumers start thinking about the conditions in which

workers operate. Not only do they have to spend hours in unsafe buildings, which, according to People Tree CEO, Safia Minney, could be put right at a cost only 10 euro per garment over the next five years, but they earn as little as 30 euro a month. Now Nobel prize winner Muhammad Yunus has joined in the growing call for the international fashion industry to fix a minimum wage for all workers.

But another problem is that a brief scan through the Fairtrade Luxembourg website reveals very little in the way of ethical clothing--a few very plain t-shirts and underwear, some colourful sneakers and a tiny selection of pullovers and dresses.

We have long accepted fair trade food as part of our shopping routine, and most supermarkets in Luxembourg now stock a selection of groceries from ethical producers, but the fashion industry has a long way to go to catch up. Brands like People Tree, with the support of celebrities like Emma Watson pushing their own line (photo) do help. But it is also up to consumers to start demanding more fair trade clothing and put pressure on international brands to ensure that their suppliers provide decent working conditions and a living wage. Clothes may end up costing more, but as Safia Minney points out, “consumers can choose fashion which empowers rather than exploits.”.

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Wednesday, 19 June 2013 Philharmonie luxembourg 8.45 a.m. - 1.00 p.m.

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CONTENTS

lifestyle

current affairs

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56

MAy 2013 Bridge to Istanbul

Turkish Airways comes to Findel and five other summer getaway ideas.

The final countdown

50

Is Luxembourg ready for the Games of the Small States of Europe?

10

48

58

Mini stopover

64

Happy kids

Outdoor family fun

English is OK

Flemish rules break EU law 20

On stage

18 essential live events

UK says campaign is “GREAT” 18

A winning season

Phil and OPL sneak preview

Regulars

More common

English overtakes Portuguese 22

Expeditive exchange

Expats go “speed networking”

Business

28 42 Think Local Kasia Wyleciał Why the Polish master’s student got connected with expat group InterNations

Bank secrecy

Will policy U-turn have a big impact on Luxembourg’s financial sector?

26

Social media

Careful what you post 34

Cool labs

66

Five bio-health projects 38

Travel wise

Making the most of your budget 40

John Johnston

New British chamber chief

my other life

coverstory

György Földes A Hungarian tour guide offers visitors their first impression of Luxembourg

The gigs alright: Over the past two decades, Luxembourg’s music scene has shed off its penchant for playing it “safe” and come into its own. How do the Grand Duchy’s top venues continue to attract artists and audiences in a newly competitive market?

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Cour grand-ducale/Christian Aschman/ Tous droits réservés

CURRENT AFFAIRS Street legend The death of Adalbert Boros brought a flood of tributes to the “clochard”. The Hungarian native, who arrived in Luxembourg in 1956, had helped students in the Gare area with maths homework in exchange for change or cigarettes. As an engineer he helped build the “Red Bridge”, and some say he chose to live rough after people started committing suicide by jumping from it.

Julien Becker (archives) Steve Eastwood

“Marshall Plan” unveiled St. George’s Day

Creative Commons

Pupils, teachers and VIP guests celebrated St. George’s Day on April 23 at St. George’s International School in Hamm. The event included games, performances and a tea. www.st-georges.lu

Pjanic for Prem?

Reports suggest that Manchester City, Tottenham and Arsenal are interested in signing the former Luxembourg under 19-player Miralem Pjanic, a dynamic midfielder (no.15 in photo) from AS Roma.

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Minister for the economy Étienne Schneider has revealed what he has dubbed a “Marshall Plan” to boost Luxembourg’s economy. Named after the United States investment programme that helped Europe recover after WWII, Schneider says his plan will require many of those companies in which the state has a share to invest in infrastructure and jobs. The state will waive its dividends from its share holdings and allow the companies to use that money--which could be up to 2.5 billion euro over five years--for investment. Among the biggest investors will be the Post Office, energy companies Creos, Enovos and SEO as well as internet communications company Luxconnect. Airfreight carrier Cargolux (in financial deficit as it is) and satellite company SES will be exempt because much of their income comes from abroad.

“Money doesn’t bring happiness”

Jean-Claude Juncker speaking on German TV programme “Precht” (ZDF, May 12)

Gay marriage boost A recent PolitMonitor poll has revealed that the vast majority of Luxembourgers--83 percent--have a positive attitude towards homosexual marriage, while just nine percent voiced strict opposition to same sex couples getting married. The coalition government wants to push same sex marriage legislation through parliament before the summer recess.

Plans to allow some form of adoption for same sex couples is also being considered.

Creative Commons

Royal wedding Prince Félix and Claire Lademacher have fixed their wedding day for September 17 in Königstein, Germany, with a religious ceremony to follow in the South of France.

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CURRENT AFFAIRS

Wine tourism push A state and European Union funded push for the Moselle as a wine tourism region faces its first big test over the weekend of June 14 to 16. The Walk, taste, enjoy weekend involves some 30 wine makers and distilleries as well as restaurants that will host open days and special tasting menus. The Wäintourismus Lëtzebuerger Musel is part of the Luxembourg Moselle regional tourism office and operates under the auspices of a EU LEADER programme. As part of its promotion of ­the area, signs indicating the wine region and a wine tourism map are currently in ­production.

But the main event is the Walk, taste, enjoy weekend, which is timed to coincide with the Fête de la Musique and will incorporate concerts, poetry readings, ­­art exhibitions and activities such as Nordic walking and Segway and bicycle tours.

Free shuttle buses will operate throughout the weekend, so residents of the ­capital can take a train to Wasserbillig and take advantage of public transport s­ o that they can enjoy their tastings responsibly. www.region-moselle.lu

Orange fête Mr. and Mrs. Peter Kok, the Netherlands’ ambassador to Luxembourg, welcomed Pierre Mores, lord chamberlain of the grand ducal court, for an official celebration of the enthronement of King Willem-­ Alexander. On April 30 he became the first Dutch king since the death of William II in 1890, when the crowns of the Netherlands and Luxembourg separated and the Grand Duchy became a totally

independent nation. Among the guests at the embassy reception were prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker, economy minister Étienne Schneider and Luxembourg city mayor Xavier Bettel.

Crown Prince ­Guillaume and Princess Stéphanie atten­ded the coronation in Amsterdam in-person. Willem-Alexander’s mother, Queen Beatrix, stepped down after 33 years on the throne.

Steve Eastwood

Some 51 residents of the Grand Duchy became infected with the HIV virus last year the Comité de surveillance du Sida reports. A further 32 infected people moved to Luxembourg. This represents a rise of 10 percent in new infections per year--in 2011 and 2010 Luxembourg recorded a total of 72 and 63 newly infected people respectively.

The number of people suffering from full-blown Aids has fallen as the effectiveness of antiviral drugs increases, but that may also be leading to a degree of apathy regarding safe sex.

Of the new cases recorded last year, 34 contracted the virus through heterosexual contact while 39 were infected after homosexual or bi-sexual contact. Eight cases were the result of intravenous drug use.

ONT

HIV infections rise

All change at Arlon Rail passengers travelling between Luxembourg and Belgium are used to a slow service, but the recent implementation of a new safety system by the Belgian SNCB means they have to change trains at Arlon. The Luxembourg authorities have not yet approved the Belgian system’s rolling stock, which means SNCB trains are effectively banned from entering the Grand Duchy. Discussions between the respective transport ministers are being hurried to solve the problem.

President of the chamber Laurent Mosar, at one stage tipped to enter government in last month’s cabinet reshuffle, has been the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies since July 2009.

State of the Nation

Opposition benches

Prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker delivered a sober State of the Nation address on April 10.

It was his 19th such address as leader of the Luxembourg government.

Green Party and Democratic Party deputies, including François Bausch and Xavier Bettel look on sceptically.

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CURRENT AFFAIRS Danish ambassador Louise Bang Jespersen and Jo Kox

Ben Andrews

GREAT Britain campaign

Mini stopover

Ambassador Alice Walpole in the GREAT Mini

Japanese ambassador Wataru Nishigahiro

British ambassador Alice Walpole hosted an afternoon tea at her residence on April 25 to mark the arrival of a special livery Mini, part of the UK government’s GREAT Britain promotional campaign.

Hailed as the most ambitious marketing campaign ever undertaken by the British government, GREAT Britain was launched on the back of the success of the ­Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II and the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012. The government in the UK claims that early feedback from the campaign suggests it could generate as much as quarter of a billion pounds for the British economy. The UK government has already pledged a further 30 million pounds to the campaign to keep it going through 2013-2014. The ambassador welcomed guests including fellow diplomats, representatives of national and local Luxembourg government and public institutions as well as members of British clubs and associations in Luxembourg.

Invited speakers including Ara City Radio’s Ben Andrews and Delano’s Duncan Roberts were asked to talk about an aspect that they felt made Britain “great” and guests09_adresse_internet enjoyed traditional British tea and cakes and snacks as well as a selection of British music by the Musical Society of Perlé band.

US embassy chargé d’affaires David R. Fetter talking with Guy de Muyser Marc Angel and Irish ambassador Diarmuid O’Leary

Photographed by Jessica Theis/jess.lu

Francis Hoogewerf talking with Jess Bauldry

The Musical Society of Perlé band

The GREAT Mini was parked on the residence lawn

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CURRENT AFFAIRS

Event

The final countdown Luxembourg’s preparations to host the Games of the Small States of Europe have been blighted by the euro crisis, internal wrangling at sports federations and a lethargic communications programme.

But just 10 days from the start of the Games, optimism is high and organisers and athletes are looking forward to a successful event.

Text by Neel Chrillesen Photography by COSL

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  MAy 2013

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CURRENT AFFAIRS

NATIONAL PRIDE Luxembourg’s team at the 2011 opening cerem­ ony in Liechtenstein

Tickets

T

he organisation of any big sport event rarely goes smoothly. There are ticket frauds to tackle, television rights to handle, security to ensure, doping scandals to prevent, issues with unfinished venues and budgets going overboard… Luxembourg has had none of these problems while preparing the 15th Games of the Small States of Europe (GSSE), which will take place from May 27 to June 1, 2013. There has been no need to build new sites, or even renovate the existing ones. Entry to all the competitions will be free, so ticketing only concerns the opening ceremony. As for the budget, it has been kept below the planned 3.4 million euro.

The threat to spoil what is presented as the biggest event of its kind ever organised in Luxem­bourg has come from another, unexpected source: Cyprus. When Cyprus’s National Olympic Committee was prevented from sending teams to international competitions this year because of the country’s economic crisis, the GSSE organising committee in Luxembourg was thrown into turmoil. Not only did it mean that the games' strongest team would be absent, it also meant several competitions, like women’s basketball and volleyball, would have to be cancelled due to an insufficient number of participants. Disappointed athletes and complicated last-minute changes were not the only issues that would have to be dealt with.

For Malta--whose medal hopes had already

dwindled when the shooting double trap competition was pulled from the programme for lack of competitors--Cyprus’s ­defection was considered “a bitter pill to swallow”.

“Our whole programme was falling apart so it was an absolute necessity for us to find a solution. We accepted to do a lot of favours in order to get the Cypriots here for the games,” admits Simone Beissel, alderwoman in charge of sports at the Ville de Luxembourg and executive member of the GSSE organising committee. In a joint effort, the European Olympic Committee, plus both Luxembourg’s government and Olympic Committee (COSL) granted Cyprus the necessary financial backing to send a full contingent, 135 athletes, to the Grand Duchy-assistance that, according to the Times of Malta, is worth over 250,000 euro. So women’s basketball and volleyball have been reinstated on the programme. However, other planned events--men’s and women’s hammer, men’s discus, women’s shooting trap and double trap-remain cancelled due to lack of competitors.

Four weight categories in the judo competition have also been removed (possibly because 12 of Luxembourg’s best judokas pulled out of the national team in January after a row with their federation). Luxembourg will also have to do without star tennis player Mandy Minella as the French Open takes place at the same time as the games.

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Opening ceremony May 27 at 8 p.m.

Stade Josy Barthel 600 participants & performers €25 ( tickets available at BGL BNP agencies and d’Coque) Other events Entrance to all competitions is free of charge

MAY 2013

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CURRENT AFFAIRS

IN THE SWIM Luxembourg traditionally does well in the pool

Nonetheless, with the Cyprus problem resolved and a still very appealing programme, there is plenty reason to rejoice. The Grand Duchy will, as planned, welcome delegations from Iceland, Andorra, Cyprus, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, San Marino and Montenegro (all states with a population of less than one million), and 807 athletes will do their very best to produce lifetime best performances. “The GSSE offers the possibility for athletes who may never qualify for the Olympic games to compare their performances with those of other countries with similar training conditions. For many it will be the most important event in their career,” explains Roby Reiland, administrative director of Luxembourg’s Olympic Committee and general coordinator of the GSSE. Seeing that the nine participating countries have obtained less than 20 Olympic medals between them in the past century, it is easy to understand why these games, which take place every two years, are so significant.

Centre may help spread the word and Hot City has released an excellent app on iTunes (JPEE 2013), the official website (www.luxembourg2013.lu) remains minimalistic and is seldom updated. As for the Luxembourg 2013 Facebook page, it has 525 “likes”, which does not indicate a massive popular backing (even the “Bring Luxembourg back to Eurovision” page has three times more).

Capital games One source of satisfaction for Luxembourg’s organising committee is to have managed to place nearly all of the events in the capital, making it easy to get to the different sites. Public transport to the venues will be free and special “navettes” will also run. Traffic problems are also reduced because the GSSE take place during the school holiday. “This may have a negative impact on the number of spectators but we’re hoping there won’t be too many people away,” says Reiland. “It would be wonderful if the stadiums were full, for the athletes too.

The fact that entrance is free for every sporting event will hopefully attract people, even from the Greater Region.”

It seems however that many, even among those living in Luxembourg, are unaware of the games even taking place. “We’ll be communicating much more in the weeks leading up to the event,” says Beissel. “We probably haven’t done enough on that level.” And while the exhibit about the GSSE at the Belle Étoile Shopping

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Opening ceremony “We accepted to do a lot of favours in order to get the Cypriots here for the Games” Simone Beissel, alderwoman in charge of sports, Ville de Luxembourg

The lack of targeted communication has also taken a toll on ticket sales for the opening ceremony on May 27. “It could be better,” admits ­Reiland. Which is a shame, because Olympicflavoured opening ceremonies are generally moments of pure magic. This one holds the same promise. It’s been conceived by Charles Muller, director of the Esch Theatre, and rumour has it that there will not only be 600 people ­putting on a world class show, but there will also be fireworks, a fly over by planes and a parachute landing. “We’re just hoping that it won’t rain as only half of the Josy Barthel Stadium is covered,” says Beissel.

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CURRENT AFFAIRS

MEDAL CEREMONY The games are an opportu­ nity for athletes to compete against their peers

“If it rains, I’m not sure we’ll even be able to play,” says an equally concerned Adrien Wald, second violin in the Conservatory’s symphony orchestra. “We’re set to play modern pieces by Luxembourg composer Gast Waltzing. It will be a first for me to perform in a stadium, I’m looking forward to it.” Alessandro Di Biaggio, member of the local Pueri Cantores choir, just back from a series of concerts in Korea, is even more enthusiastic. “It’s an enormous privilege to be on that stage, in the stadium and at that moment. It tops everything we’ve ever done. While we’re singing, there will be athletes coming in, dancers, cameras… I’m really proud to be a part of it.” The spectators in the stands, all 8,000 of them, can clearly look forward to seeing much more than the traditional lighting of the “Olympic” flame. Among the VIPs present that evening will also be IOC president Jacques Rogge, ministers of sport from the participating countries, Prince Albert of Monaco and Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein, and Luxembourg’s own Grand Duke Henri.

Also proud to be a part of these games are the volunteers, an all-important component in this

kind of event. In total 485 volunteers have been recruited by the organising committee, while the sports federations have enrolled an additional 500 to help out at the venues.

“In October 2012, we had only heard from about 200 people and were a bit worried,” admits Hubert Eschette, head of the volunteers. “Luckily, once we got our campaign going, the response was overwhelming and we even had to turn people down.”

“I’m especially motivated by helping make this major event for Luxembourg be a great success,” says lawyer and volunteer Fränk Schaack in the Luxembourg 2013 newsletter. “Being involved in an event like this, that unites so many different cultures and mentalities is a wonderful way to share human values and a great opportunity to experience something unique in a lively, positive atmosphere.”

“Are you ready for the games?” asks the GSSE’s slogan. If not, why not start making plans to visit a competition or two? It really is a rather exceptional event, of the kind that doesn’t ­happen every day in Luxembourg..

MISSING IN ACTION Some judo has been removed from the games programme

www.luxembourg2013.lu

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CURRENT AFFAIRS

Politics

Reshuffle After much speculation and rumours of a radical ministerial overhaul, prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker revealed details of a cabinet reshuffle at the end of April.

Text by Duncan Roberts Photography by Charles Caratini

I

n the end there was no major shock, no coalition-threatening resignation and little fuss. With just over a year to go before national parliament elections, prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker has simply hired two new guns to his cabinet and redistributed some portfolios.

Before the announcement on April 27 rum­ ours had circulated that Luc Frieden, the finance minister seen by most observers as

MARC SPAUTZ (second from left) Being photographed during parliamentary session

Two new faces

Martine Hansen was born in Wiltz in 1965. She went to school at the Lycée classique de Diekirch and later studied agricultural engineering at the University of StuttgartHohenheim. She taught engineering at the Lycée technique agricole in Ettelbruck before assuming its directorship in 2006.

Marc Spautz was born in 1963 in Esch-sur-Alzette and went to school at his home city’s Lycée technique and at the Lycée technique privé Émile Metz in Luxembourg. He has been a member of the CSV since 1981 and was appointed the party’s secretary general in 2009 and its parliamentary faction leader from October 2011.

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Juncker’s natural successor, would quit government. That would have sent shockwaves through the government ranks just 18 months after the premature resignation of economy minister Jeannot Krecké. But no such move was forthcoming and as part of the reshuffle Frieden has been given additional responsibility as minister in charge of communications and media.

That portfolio had long been a favourite of outgoing minister François Biltgen, who had announced his resignation some weeks previously after revealing that he would apply for the vacant post as Luxembourg’s judge at the European Court of Justice in Kirchberg, replacing Jean-Jacques Kasel.

But, as expected, family and integration minister Marie-Josée Jacobs stepped down

from government. Jacobs also held the international cooperation and humanitarian action portfolios. Juncker announced that new minister Marc Spautz, formerly the head of the CSV’s parliamentary faction, has now taken on all of Jacobs’ responsibilities. He also takes over the parliamentary relations portfolio from Octavie Modert.

Modert was another minister around whom rumours of an exit from government had circulated, but she has been given a promotion in taking on the justice and the public service and administrative reform portfolios, while remaining culture minister.

Spautz is joined by another new face in the ­cabinet, former director of the agriculture technical academy Martine Hansen. This appointment allows Juncker to retain the gender balance in the cabinet and also maintains representation in the government of a personality from the north of the country. There had been suggestions that Simon brewery boss Betty Fontaine might be asked to join the government, but Hansen, 10 years Fontaine’s senior, landed the post. She will take over the higher education and research portfolios previously held by Biltgen.

Biltgen, former justice minister who had also previously served as employment minister, was a highly popular member of government. He was viewed as a down to earth minister, who could be seen enjoying a beer at local events and even, famously, became the subject of an internet viral hit when a video of him performing a head-over-heels at a Luxembourg student convention was uploaded to YouTube. And he made a memorably witty speech at the 20th anniversary celebrations of the Film Fund in 2010.

He had suffered from illness over the last 12 years, including a successful battle with cancer, but in an emotional farewell speech to parliament Biltgen insisted that he was not retiring for health reasons and was full of praise for Juncker and his former cabinet colleagues and co-workers..

MAY 2013

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CURRENT AFFAIRS

Legal

Flemish language rules break EU law Belgium cannot require employment contracts in the Flemish region to be written in Dutch, Europe’s top court has ruled.

Text by Aaron Grunwald Photography by Olivier Minaire

R

egulations requiring “all employers whose established place of business is located in Flanders to draft all cross-border employment contracts exclusively in Dutch is in breach of EU law”, the European Court of Justice in Kirchberg said last month.

Under current Belgian law, all employeeemployer communications in the Flemish region must be made in Dutch, and non-compliance nullifies the employment contract.

Belgium has said the regulations are needed to protect the official language, and to ensure that labour inspectors and the courts can effectively supervise the workplace.

In 2004 Antos Las--a citizen and resident of the Netherlands--was hired by PSA Antwerp, a port operator owned by a Singapore-based firm. Both his original work contract and his 2009 dismissal letter were drafted in English.

Las brought a case before a Belgian labour court seeking a higher severance payment than the one calculated under his Englishlanguage agreement, which he said was invalid. The court in Belgium then asked the ECJ if the Flemish language rules inhibited the free movement of workers within the EU. In April, a panel of judges at Europe’s top court concluded that the rules indeed did.

“Provisions relating to freedom of movement for workers are intended to facilitate the pursuit of occupational activities of all kinds throughout the EU, and preclude measures which might place EU nationals at a disadvantage when they wish to pursue an economic activity in the territory of another member state,” the ECJ said.

Since under the law “only the Dutch text is authentic in the drafting of cross-border employment contracts concluded by employers

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TOWER OF BABEL EU’s top court runs in 22 languages

whose established place of business is located in the Dutch-speaking region of Belgium” then the legislation “is liable to have a dissuasive effect on non-Dutch-speaking employees and employers from other member states.” That “constitutes a restriction on freedom of movement for workers.”

The judges said European law “does not ­preclude the adoption of a policy for the protection and promotion of one or more official languages of a member state” but rejected the Belgian government’s argument that language promotion policies must apply to inter-EU work arrangements.

“Parties to a cross-border employment contract do not necessarily have knowledge of Dutch”, the ECJ observed.

Last July, Niilo Jääskinen, an advocate general at the court, wrote in a preliminary opinion that the “exclusive use of Dutch can only in fact protect employees who are sufficiently familiar with that language”, adding that forcing residents of one member state to speak the language of another does not really protect official languages. The matter has now returned to the Belgian labour court for adjudication. The case is Anton Las v PSA Antwerp NV (C-202/11)..

MAY 2013

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CURRENT AFFAIRS

EU

Consumer rights campaign European commissioner Viviane Reding has introduced new rules on the acceptance and standardisation of official papers for cross-border residents, aiming to make EU citizenship more part of “everyday life”.

Text by Aaron Grunwald

russels has put forward simplifications on the use of official documents across EU borders, such as identity cards and road safety certificates, and safeguards to expat voting rights, as part of the EU Citizenship Report 2013 released in May. More than 13.6 million EU citizens currently live in another member state, and about 210 million travel to another EU country for business or pleasure each year, according to the European Commission.

“We receive over one million enquiries every year from citizens on issues that relate to their rights,” Viviane Reding--European justice, fundamental rights and citizenship commissioner--says in a statement. “That is why today we are taking action to reinforce citizens’ rights in everyday situations, like looking for a job, shopping online or taking part in European decision-making.”

Among Reding’s proposed reforms are “actions” aimed at “facilitating the acceptance of identity and residence documents” in other EU countries; “making it easier to recognise ­roadworthiness certificates for cars cross-border in the EU”; and for “developing an EU disability card to be mutually recognised across the EU” to ensure consistent treatment of the union’s 80 million disabled residents.

The commission put forward new rules as well to help settle cross-border small claims disputes, such as when consumers buy products online or directly from a retailer in another EU country, and rules to “enable EU citizens to keep their right to vote in national elections in their country of origin. The practice in some member states of depriving their citizens of their right to vote once they move to another EU country effectively is tantamount to punishing citizens for ­having exercised their right to free movement.”

VIVIANE REDING Wants to “cut red tape”

Council of the European Union

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Brussels also proposes that unemployment benefits paid by the “home country” to crossborder jobseekers be extended from three months to at least six.

The programme will be implemented “during 2013 and 2014”, a spokeswoman for Reding tells Delano. However, some of the measures will be subject to further review by the European Parliament and European Council of government ministers.

A commission memo explains the moves, along with its “European Year for Citizens” public engagement programme, have been made to strengthen the legitimacy of next year’s EU elections. “Next year’s elections to the European Parliament should be about ­European issues, and not about problems with national governments.”

The memo claims that since the last EU Citizenship Report, issued in 2010, it has cut “red tape for 3.5 million people registering a car in another EU country each year, with savings of 1.5 billion euro”, banned “pre-ticked boxes for online shoppers”, as well as clarified “property rights for Europe’s 16 million international couples”..

" We are taking action to reinforce citizens’ rights " Viviane Reding

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CURRENT AFFAIRS

Languages

English 4th most common in Luxembourg Just under three-quarters of the population spoke Luxembourgish in 2011, while one-fifth used English on a regular basis, new figures have revealed.

Text by Aaron Grunwald

NUMBER OF LANGUAGES HABITUALLY SPOKEN BY Italians 2.5

Luxembourgish 71%

Germans 2.2

French 56%

Portuguese 2.2

German 31%

Luxembourgers 2.1

English 21%

British 2

Portuguese 20%

French 1.9 0

L

20

0.5

Source : Statec

PROPORTION OF THE GRAND DUCHY’S POPULATION THAT REGULARLY SPEAKS

Dutch 2.7

Italian 6% 1.0

1.5

2.0

uxembourgish was the most spoken language on a regular basis in the Grand Duchy in 2011, according to a new report. French was used by more than half of the population on a normal basis, and German used by nearly one-third, Statec said last month. English and Portuguese were each used by about one in five people.

The national statistics agency reported that 71% of the population spoke Luxembourgish, 56% spoke French, 31% spoke German, 21% spoke English, 20% spoke Portuguese and 6% spoke Italian. The data comes from the 2011 census, which asked respondents which languages they “habitually” used “at work, at school and/or at home”.

On average, people in the Grand Duchy regularly spoke 2.2 languages; although 40% spoke just one, while 26% spoke two, 17% spoke three and 13% spoke four. The average increased to 2.6 languages for those aged 15 to 19, and the figures dropped below two for those aged 60 and older.

Luxembourg nationals reported speaking an average of 2.1 languages, with 18% saying they spoke English.

The use of Luxembourgish by immigrants increased with the length of their stay in the Grand Duchy, the statistics bureau observed.

2.5

3.0

0

10

20

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Foreign nationals collectively reported usual use of an average of 2.2 languages, with 32% speaking Luxembourgish.

The Dutch had the highest average number of languages spoken in the report: 2.7. Fifty one percent spoke Luxembourgish, and just under half spoke English or spoke French.

The French had the lowest average number of habitually spoken languages: 1.9, Statec said. Just over a quarter spoke Luxembourgish, with nearly a third speaking English and 18% speaking German.

British nationals spoke an average of two tongues, with half speaking French and 18% speaking Luxembourgish.

In the capital, Luxembourgish was habitually used by less than half of the population: 49%.

Sixty-five percent spoke French, 34% spoke English, 28% spoke German, 19% spoke Portuguese and 9% spoke Italian.

The commune with the highest use of Luxembourgish was Consthum (95%). Niederanven had the highest usage of English (38%), followed by Strassen, Schuttrange and Sandweiler, which all had rates over 34%.

The survey did not examine the “level of competence in a language”, but only its regular use..

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New international secondary school option

The Lycée Technique Michel Lucius has launched an Englishlanguage programme.

Starting this autumn, it will offer International General Certificate of ­Secondary Education classes in English language and literature, mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, geography, history, French and German. It will offer most of these subjects at A-level in two years’ time. The Limpertsberg school says the IGCSE programme comes in response to growing demand for recognised English school leaving qualifications. DR www.ltml.lu

MAY 2013

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© Felix Sorger

«»

Microcredit allowed me to buy my motorcycletaxi. Today, I am a self-employed taxi driver.

Alexander L. Napat, motorcycle-taxi driver in the Philippines

Alexander lives near Ozamis city, on Mindanao Island in the Philippines.

In 2010, he got a microcredit from a cooperative in order to be able to become a self-employed taxi driver.

Increasing autonomy.

Improving lives.

Since then, he travels into the city every morning at 5.30 am to transport clients on his motorcycle taxi.

With a daily revenue of 300 Philippine pesos, which corresponds to around 6 euros, Alexander can afford to pay back his credit in installments while covering the needs of his family.

With its partners, ADA supports 150 microfinance institutions around the world. In this way, ADA helps to improve access to financial services and cover the basic daily needs of 5 million people. www.microfinance.lu

With the support of:

annonce_ADA_delano_210x265.indd 21_PUB_ADA.indd 21 1

30/04/13 16/05/13 15:42 11:48

CURRENT AFFAIRS

Jean-Marc from Luxembourg, Anna from Germany, and Simone and Claude from Luxembourg

Nigerians Tosin and Kingsley, who is featured in the Delano April 2013 “Think Local” interview

Viktor from Bulgaria (on left)

Get-together

InterNations host Brian Mikkelsen checks his stopwatch at the group’s May 7 “speed networking” event

Expeditive exchange

The evening also included casual lounge time and a bit of “party music” and dancing

Isabel from France and InterNations organiser Mirco Rubel from Germany

Nearly 300 international residents hit Clausen hotspot Melusina for expat group InterNations’ May 7 “speed networking” confab. Such events are a great way for newcomers to meet people, according to Kasia Wyleciał, one of the Luxembourg branch organisers (see “Think Local” interview on page 42).

Indeed, participants had four minutes to meet and get to know someone new.

While originally a business networking concept, InterNations hopes attendees can connect on a “private” basis as well, explains fellow organiser Mirco Rubel.

While it was slightly awkward for many at the beginning, the majority got into the swing of things as the session went on.

InterNations hosts its next event June 4 at Gloss in Kirchberg. AG www.internations.org Photographed by Steve Eastwood

Participants at InterNations’ May “speed networking” event

Chris from the US and Marelle from the Netherlands

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Peter from Germany (on left), Darek from Poland (second from left), Michael from Belgium (on right)

MAY 2013

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15/05/13 18:12

CURRENT AFFAIRS

Public health

Smoking ban in force for 2014 Parliament is expected to pass a bill enforcing a universal smoking ban from the start of 2014.

F

ollowing years of lobbying by health interest groups such as the Fondation Cancer, a universal ban on smoking in public places is likely to be passed by parliament before the summer recess.

The ban will include cafés, bars and discos and should come into force on January 1, 2014. A ban on smoking in restaurants and at certain times in cafés that serve food has been in place since September 2006.

The news follows an agreement among CSV parliamentarians on a number of outstanding clauses to the draft bill that were rejected by the Council of State in its review of the proposed legislation earlier this year. The main sticking point had been an exemption for small establishments of less than 60 square metres.

Café and restaurant lobby group Horesca has long voiced its opposition to the ban, saying it will mean fewer people frequent cafés and bars, and that could threaten jobs and even cause some estab-

lishments to close. But Luxembourg will now join the majority of EU member states in banning smoking across the board--although, Luxembourg, like some other countries such as France where a ban is in force, will permit designated smoking areas as long as they are sealed off from the main bar, have airconditioning and no drinks are served in them.

Health minister Mars Di ­Bartolomeo said in an interview with the Wort in March that he welcomed the Council of State ruling because it meant “there was no way around a universal smoking ban.” That has long been his goal, and a recent TNS Ilres survey suggests the majority of the population supports it--77 percent are non-smokers and 87 percent say that smoke is annoying in public places.

The new bill will also amend legislation concerning smoking areas in public buildings such as hospitals and airports.

Children will now be banned from these areas and notices warning of the dangers of ­smoking will be posted..

OUTSIDE NOW Smokers will be prohibited from lighting up inside bars

Steve Eastwood

Text by Duncan Roberts Photography by David Laurent (archives)

Consumer affairs

More counterfeit “beef” found

Dutch authorities have discovered a new shipment of mislabelled meat sent to Luxembourg, detected as part of Europe’s “horsemeat scandal” investigation.

An additional 50,000 tonnes of meat falsely touted as “100% beef” had been shipped to customers in the Grand Duchy and across the EU, according to Luxembourg’s agriculture and health ministries. All of the suspect meat is believed to have been withdrawn in February.

The government says the firm in question was “the same company affected by product recalls” earlier this year. That was Capellenbased Tavola, which is owned by Comigel, a processed food firm in Metz. At press time, the company’s CEO had not returned Delano’s message seeking comment..

Life expectancy rise Men born in Luxembourg in 2011 have an ­average life expectancy of 78.5 years, while women can live on average to the age of 83.6 according to a new Eurostat survey.

Both figures are slightly above the EU average of 77.4 and 83.2 years respectively. In 2001 life expectancy for those born in Luxembourg was 75.1 years for men and 80.7 for women.

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MAy 2013

23 15/05/13 16:17

David Laurent (archives)

business €22,000 bugs

Steve Eastwood

Ralf-Philipp Weinmann, a computer security researcher at the University of Luxembourg, was awarded $31,336

by Google for uncovering three ­vulnerabilities in its Chrome browser.

He discovered weaknesses in a tool used to create 3D applications, which could have exposed confidential data.

The amount is more than 10 times Google’s typical bounty per bug.

Bright futures

Dividends steady

Losses slow

Turnover at blast furnace maker Paul Wurth slipped about 7.5% in 2012, but margins were bolstered by a 20% bulge in orders. Board chair Michel Wurth presided over a shareholder vote that left dividends unchanged at €420 per share.

Luxembourg’s cargo airline recorded an overall loss of US$35.1 million in 2012, although it had expected to lose $57 million. Cargolux has been in the red five out of the last six years, but says it is “cautiously optimistic” about turning a profit in 2013.

Council of the European Union

David Laurent (archives)

RTL: €1.4 billion Bertelsmann sold 17% of RTL through a secondary share offering that raised €1.4 billion. It still holds 75.1% of the international broadcaster, which owns the Idol franchise. RTL also added ­Frankfurt to its listings in Brussels and Luxembourg.

24

The 17 euro area states together ­transferred €16 billion to the European Stability Mechanism, the euro zone rescue agency based in Kirchberg, bringing the rescue fund’s capital base up to €48 billion. Two additional rounds are due in October and April 2014, which will give the fund €80 ­billion in paid-in capital and a total lending capacity of €500 billion, says ESM chief Klaus Regling.

snap turtle/Creative Commons

tinational group” and “what I liked very much about the ­programme is how it is closely linked to the financial industry”.

While she had administrative issues with the school--which she diplomatically labels “last minute surprises”--Chen nevertheless describes the LSF as “the future of the financial ­industry in Luxembourg”. At the same time, she calls on the university to improve the school’s global standing. “It’s a very good programme, very well known in Luxembourg, but I hope it will be more internationally recognised.” Chen plans to remain in the Grand Duchy, noting it is one of her native country’s “favourite” investment destinations.

Mario Shoots/Creative Commons

Chen Yu was honoured as class valedictorian of the Luxembourg School of Finance’s master in banking and finance programme on May 7. The native of Guilin, in southwestern China, has lived in the Grand Duchy for four years and currently works as a base metals buyer at ArcelorMittal. She enrolled because the commodities market “is no longer linked to supply and demand, but more driven by finance”, she tells Delano.

The degree has helped her better understand derivatives, such as futures contracts, and “how to take advantage of the volatility of the market”. Chen says LSF “courses are very intensive”, but “it was a great experience studying with a mul-

ESM 60% funded

MAY 2013

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business

ECJ approves patent deal European Central Bank

Italy and Spain have failed in their bid before the EU’s top court to block the new intellectual property regime agreed by the other 25 EU countries. The so-called “single European patent” can proceed, the European Court of Justice ruled in April. The “unitary patent” is meant to streamline intellectual property registration and protection, allowing inventors to receive pan-European patents via one application, by reducing the number of languages used in official documents to English, French and German, instead of all official languages in the EU, and by establishing specialised patent courts, including an appeals court in L­ uxembourg. The new system is optional and does not eliminate national ­patents. Italy and Spain argued the other 25 had “brushed aside” their language concerns and that patents were part of the single European market that required unanimity. The ECJ rejected those claims, saying the EU had negotiated with the pair in good faith and there was no “damage” to the internal market. The court’s decision is final.

Most popular networks LUXEMBOURG COMPANIES ACTIVE ON SOCIAL MEDIA LinkedIn 87% Facebook 69% Twitter 56% You Tube 36%

Jessica Theis

Xing 21%

Top 100 rated airport Research firm Skytrax named Luxembourg Findel the 85th best ­airport in the world, up two places from 2012. London Heathrow placed 10th, while Frankfurt Main airport was 11th, London City was 34th, London ­Gatwick was 35th, London Stansted was 41st and Brussels Capital was 66th.

Paris Charles de Gaulle airport was named 82nd, beating Findel by three places. Singapore Changi, Incheon International, Amsterdam Schiphol, Hong Kong International and Beijing Capital airports topped the ratings that are based on more than 12 million traveller surveys and measure 39 indicators at nearly 400 airports, which according to the firm, do not pay to participate in the study and cannot influence the survey results.

0

Only 37% of Luxembourg employers use social media sites to search for staff, while 56% of professionals do not have a “work” social ­networking profile, a pair of new surveys shows. Less than half of ­Luxembourg employers and employees rely on social media for recruitment and career advancement, while one out of three companies in the Grand Duchy is not yet present on social networks, the research also reveals. Firms with less than 50 employees are less likely to have a social network presence. Asked if they would change information on professional profiles during a job search, more than half of people said they “would change data on my CV”. The findings come from canvassing of companies and of individuals that market research firm Quest carried out for the British Chamber of Commerce for Luxembourg, and was presented last month during the chamber’s “Who do you think you are?” conference (see next page).

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100

INDIVIDUALS WITH PROFESSIONAL SOCIAL MEDIA PROFILES LinkedIn 37% Viadeo 4.6% Xing 4.6% Facebook 2.4% Monster 1% 0

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16 th most “networked” The Grand Duchy is among the top 20 world economies “that are best placed to benefit from new information and communication technologies”, placing 16th in the Networked Readiness Index 2013 released last month by Genevabased think tank World Economic Forum and Paris-based business school INSEAD. That is up from 21st place last

year. The report “ranks 144 economies based on their capacity to exploit the opportunities offered by the digital age”. The Grand Duchy placed just below 14th ranked Hong Kong and 15th rated Israel, but above 17th rated Iceland and 18th ranked Australia. The top three places were held by Finland, Singapore and Sweden.

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Source: Quest for British Chamber of Commerce for Luxembourg

jeffc5000/Creative Commons

Still waiting to connect

Sean Ellis/Creative Commons

Yves Mersch critiqued the European Commission’s proposed financial transaction tax, saying it could force banks to depend even more on the European Central Bank. Speaking at a Luxembourg Stock Exchange conference on may 6, he warned that banks will likely shy away from offering each other short-term loans, which would be subject to the levy.

That in turn would damage market liquidity and force institutions to turn to Frankfurt more frequently, as central bank lending is not taxable under the current draft. Mersch, a member of the ECB’s executive committee, says that would create an un-virtuous cycle that would only “increase banks’ ” reliance on resorting to ECB funding.

Olivier Minaire

Mersch blasts FTT

MAY 2013

16/05/13 10:21

BUSINESS

Pierre-Olivier Rotheval

Dan Croghan

Networking

Not for mums and bosses Do not put anything on social media that you wouldn’t want your mother to see, was the sage advice from Miami University student Dan Croghan. During a British Chamber of Commerce conference in April, he noted that young people change their social media approach entirely as soon as they start looking for a job.

Instead of honing CVs, job-seekers connect, comment and like strategically, while wild spring break photos are purged.

So many are left wondering who “is the person behind the personality that you see on social media”, notes Interact’s Daniel Eischen.

Indeed, candidates and employers are trying to “seduce” each other, says ­Deloitte’s Delphine Berlemont. That’s why, despite the online dance, face-toface interviews are still necessary. AG

Daniel Eischen

Delphine Berlemont

Eric Groenendaels

wdytya.bcc.lu Photographed by Jessica Theis / jess.lu

09_adresse_internet John Johnston, the newly elected chair of the British Chamber of Commerce

Cathy Schwartz, speaking with Vincent Eggen

Arjan Kirthisingha and Nicolas J. Ries

The conference, entitled “Who do you think you are?” was held at Banque Internationale à Luxembourg’s headquarters in Hollerich

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MAY 2013

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plan K

On the road to tomorrow’s mobility.

Driving differently and reducing the congestion on our roads.

ALD Automotive, the market leader in contract hire in Luxembourg, designs smart mobility solutions. A Smart Mobility Consultant has joined its team, offering turnkey solutions to businesses and local authorities.

These solutions are part of the ALD Bluefleet service, which was launched in 2009. ALD Automotive is reducing its actual CO2 emissions through carbon offset combined with eco-driving and lower mileage.

For any questions on mobility, contact us: Pierre-Yves Meert, Smart Mobility Consultant, 31 05 36 1

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Working together for smart mobility!

See details of all our initiatives during Mobility Week at http://www.aldautomotive.lu

Working together for smart mobility!

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business

Bank secrecy

Does it matter?

Last month the government announced that the Grand Duchy would break with its long-standing position and, pending final negotiations, begin automatic exchange of tax information with the EU and US in less than two years from now.

Luxembourg had no choice but to ditch banking secrecy, prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker said in his annual “state of the nation” address on April 10.

The government took the decision primarily in light of the US tax avoidance scheme FATCA, which takes effect next year.

That means starting on January 1, 2015, only Luxembourg residents will continue to benefit from the current, anonymous withholding tax system, which is unpopular abroad.

Will it change the Grand Duchy’s financial machine?

Text by Aaron Grunwald

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May 2013

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BUSINESS

Delano’s informal poll of Luxembourg financial organisations* * Average of all responses

What drove the policy change in your view?

Pressure from Brussels and European leaders

Julien Becker (archives)

5.6

1

he prime minister reckons that the Grand Duchy’s financial industry is prepared to change, and enhanced tax cooperation should not have a significant impact on the future of the sector.

To test this theory, Delano asked 30 financial services organisations in Luxembourg to take an informal poll. It was not intended as a scientific survey, but rather an attempt at “taking the pulse” of the industry.

The vast majority of those who participated asked to remain anonymous, citing the sensitivity of the issue. Several would not participate even confidentially, with one bank spokesman saying it was “too early” to comment on the regulatory changes.

Policy change Quizzed on which issues had the biggest influence on the government changing course, Delano survey-takers agreed that the most important factor was the need to implement FATCA, in order to maintain smooth access to US markets.

On a scale of one (“not at all an important source of pressure”) to ten (“extremely important source of pressure”), the global American tax reporting rules earned an average response of seven (see charts on right).

Luxembourg is expected to sign a technical agreement with Washington this autumn on how data will be shared. That “would open the gates for other EU member states to require

10

4.3

Luxembourg to exchange information on the same terms with them given the most favoured nation provision” in European treaties, explains Jean Schaffner, tax partner at law firm Allen & Overy.

So one tax advisor says Luxembourg “needed to get in front of” the FATCA issue and be “organised” in negotiations with Washington and Brussels.

At the same time, international media coverage of “offshore financial scandals” that included Luxembourg was the second highest rated factor, followed by pressure from within the EU. “I cannot say whether these played any factor in the government’s decision or exercised any pressure on the government,” says Cédric Schirrer, partner at the law firm Wagener & Associés.

“I could only notice that, in my personal experience of TV news and articles I have read throughout the past years, Luxembourg was qualified several times as ‘tax haven’ or even ‘money laundering haven’.”

While the head of a well-known consultancy believes that “the European Commission doesn’t hesitate to hit Luxembourg with the ‘tax haven’ label” whenever it needs a convenient scapegoat. Finance minister Luc Frieden and the government have seen that change is “inevitable” and “instead of waiting for the last minute, they’ve taken action beforehand,” he argues.

Yet respondents strongly state that the “tax haven” label has been wrongly applied to the Grand Duchy.

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Extremely important source of pressure

Fear that Luxembourg would be seen as “the next Cyprus” with a “dangerous” banking sector

Nigel Fielding Would like more consistency

T

Not at all important source of pressure

1

Not at all important source of pressure

Extremely important source of pressure

10

The need to implement FATCA and maintain smooth access to US markets 7

1

Not at all important source of pressure

Extremely important source of pressure

10

International media coverage of “offshore financial scandals” that included Luxembourg 5.9

1

Not at all important source of pressure

May 2013

Extremely important source of pressure

10

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BUSINESS

Has Luxembourg been unfairly pressured into making these changes

by Brussels, Washington, Berlin, Paris or other foreign governments?

3.7

1

Luxembourg came under no unfair external pressure at all

Luxembourg came under extremely unfair external pressure

10

How much change will your organisation, in particular, directly see as a result of automatic tax cooperation?

2.7

Luc Deflorenne

1

My organisation will experience no changes at all

My organisation will experience radical changes

10

How much change will the Grand Duchy’s financial sector, as a whole, experience?

4.7

Cédric Schirrer Luxembourg needs to lose the false “tax haven” label 1

“Financial businesses in Luxembourg have long since realised that they cannot build a sustainable future on this business model and this is not the selling point,” is the view of Venetia Lean, board member of Banque Havilland. “For our bank in particular we see the advantages of being in Luxembourg as supporting our ability to service an international client base through its location and access to multi-lingual and multi-cultural staff.”

Schirrer says: “In my opinion, Luxembourg could not be qualified as ‘tax haven’ in the past. Nor is it now.” He adds that “the simplification of the rules on exchange of information may help Luxembourg to get rid of this ‘bad image’.”

Indeed, most poll participants believe this change is vital for the future of the Grand Duchy’s financial services sector and thus its entire economy. “The withholding tax solution became an uphill battle with too few countries willing to adopt it and it is important that Luxembourg remains in the mainstream”, posits Nigel Fielding, head of bank HSBC in Luxembourg.

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“In the long term, Luxembourg would not progress as a solid financial centre if it is perceived as a facilitator of tax evasion,” says Schaffner. “Luxembourg vehicles would be used less and less in cross-border contexts if their use would be systematically frowned upon by foreign tax jurisdictions.”

Nothing will actually change in Luxembourg

Luxembourg will see radical changes

10

Limited impact “It will certainly be a loss for the private banking sector” in the Grand Duchy, he suggests. “How much of an impact it will have in the end is anybody’s guess, but, in my view, it should not have any major negative impact on the financial centre as a whole, in particular with respect to the investment fund industry.”

Schaffner adds that “in the long term, the increased transparency will be essential to remain on par with other major financial centres, but it will not represent a competitive advantage as such. Competitive advantages will need to flow from other distinguishing features, such as special

May 2013

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BY YOUR SIDE, FROM ONE GENERATION TO THE NEXT

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BUSINESS

Do you expect the level of tax information exchange will increase over time, such as covering investment income, pension payments and revenue from property?

What is the best forum to address the question of enhanced cooperation on the taxation of multinational corporations?

Does this enhance the reputation of Luxembourg’s financial centre?

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1

This was a one-time concession that will never be repeated again in the future

Luxembourg will eventually exchange all financial data with foreign tax authorities

Bilateral accords such as renegotiating double taxation agreements

6.9

10

1

The policy change will not help Luxembourg’s reputation at all

Luxembourg will benefit hugely from the recent policy change

6.9

10

1

This is the worst possible venue to address corporate tax

This is the best possible venue to address corporate tax

10

At EU level 5.1

legal and tax features and the vast know-how Luxembourg has built up in the financial sector over the years.”

“Luxembourg has certainly not lost a competitive advantage as it has been clear for some time that was not a realistic way of operating for the future,” says Lean. “It has however forced the government to find and support new ways for Luxembourg’s financial centre to compete on an international basis. I think they are trying to do this evidenced by positive initiatives such as the Freeport.”

A staffer at a major services provider also takes a balanced view: “In the context of Europe and North America, Luxembourg may have gained some advantages; in the context of emerging financial hubs [in] Asia, Luxembourg may have lost some advantages.”

While Schaffner believes the shift has “mostly been a win-win situation for everybody”, he warns against changing “policies too frequently as otherwise one of the major advantages of Luxembourg, which is the legal and tax stability, would be undermined”.

Future debate Talk has already begun in Brussels of increasing the level of tax information sharing on other types of holdings and wealth, not to mention a crack-down on the transfer of revenue by multinational corporations among cross-border business units, which is seen by cash-strapped capitals as tax evasion. In his talks with fellow EU ministers, Frieden has called for global harmonisation of such rules.

Yet Delano’s poll found more support for addressing the question of enhanced cooperation on corporate taxation tackled on a bilateral basis.

“Trying to achieve these tax agreements at such a high level dilutes the effect and also can be complex and cumbersome and you end up with

32

something that does not work for anyone,” says Lean. “I believe it’s better for the high level organisation, for example the EU, to set broad guidelines but then leave it to people to implement locally.

Perhaps this is really a multi-lateral approach in disguise.”

“In my opinion, the level on which cross-border taxation is discussed is less about fairness than effectiveness,” says Schirrer, who praises the OECD’s 2010 cross-border tax regime, which Luxembourg has joined.

“Since these methods have proven efficient in the past, I believe countries will continue to focus on them in the future.”

However Fielding takes the opposite view: “I think it is important to reach a global agreement on exchange of information and my main reason is that if agreements are made bilaterally or even at EU or G20 level there will be countries outside the agreements and therefore the playing field will not be level and some businesses will move activity out of countries covered by the agreements to those outside the agreements, and many countries may lose out in such a scenario including Luxembourg.”

The consensus among poll participants is that the debate on cross-border corporate taxation remains a major problem for Luxembourg, because, in the words of one well-placed fund industry executive “nobody really understands the very high technicalities linked to cross-border taxation and therefore judges too quickly.”

“It is a debate we have to engage in and are doing so to ensure there is consistency not only in the EU but on broader global basis,” observes Fielding.

Schaffner concludes that “it is not necessarily a problem, but it is an area that will be closely monitored by all Luxembourg tax advisors.”

They will not be the only ones mindfully watching. .

1

This is the worst possible venue to address corporate tax

This is the best possible venue to address corporate tax

10

Through international organisations such as G20 or OECD 6.1

1

This is the worst possible venue to address corporate tax

This is the best possible venue to address corporate tax

10

Via the UN or a global treaty 4.4

1

This is the worst possible venue to address corporate tax

This is the best possible venue to address corporate tax

10

May 2013

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16/05/13 17:32

rosedeclaire.lu

ISC

SAM

ENVIRONMENT AND AGRO-BIOTECHNOLOGIES

INFORMATICS, SYSTEMS AND COLLABORATION

SCIENCE AND ANALYSIS OF MATERIALS

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CHE

RCHE PU B

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U AT US ANN.L T I S VI IPPM .L WW AN

CENT

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EVA

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BRIEL LIP

PM

CRP - GABRIEL LIPPMANN THREE DEPARTMENTS WORKING FOR YOUR INNOVATION NEEDS A major player in scientific research and technology transfer in Luxembourg, the CRP - Gabriel Lippmann proposes high-level skills and state-of-the-art technologies.

CRP - GABRIEL LIPPMANN 41, rue du Brill - L- 4422 BELVAUX tel. (352) 47 02 61-1 fax (352) 47 02 64

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16/05/13 11:46

BUSINESS

Research

Cool labs

The government is promoting Luxembourg as an emerging centre of bio-medical research and wants to recruit more rising scientific stars.

Delano looks at five projects that are helping put the Grand Duchy on the map.

Illustrations by Vera Heliodoro, which were inspired by photos from CRP Santé, CRP Gabriel Lippmann, Integrated BioBank of Luxembourg and the University of Luxembourg

Brain cancer “The five year survival probability for patients with Glioblastoma is less than 10%,” says Dr. Simone Niclou of the Norlux Neuro-Oncology Laboratory, which is part of public research institute CRP Santé and focuses on studying brain tumours. That is because “no curative treatment is currently available”. Her team is “actively working towards ­developing new treatment strategies and towards a better understanding of the aggressive nature of the disease.”

In March, the lab inked a collaboration deal with the Labatt Brain Research ­Centre in Toronto. Niclou expects one to two ­scientists from each side will systematically cross the Atlantic each year, instead of relying on ad-hoc exchanges, and the two centres will coordinate ­projects at an institutional level. www.crp-sante.lu

34

Digestive issues CRP Gabriel Lippmann and CRP Santé’s “biocar” study is currently looking at the “influence of divalent minerals on carotenoid absorption”, explains Dr. Torsten Bohn, nutrition and toxicology unit leader at the Lippmann public research centre.

“This includes a human and an in-vitro [lab] trial, to find out whether there is any negative interaction in the gut between the two food constituents.”

Bohn’s team is also examining the “potential of Luxembourgish plum and cabbage varieties to positively impact inflammatory processes in the gut, which could result in inflammatory bowel diseases.”

In addition, they are working with the ­Luxembourg beekeepers a­ ssociation to collect data and hopefully identify the root causes of the recent rise in bee deaths plaguing Europe. www.lippmann.lu

MAY 2012

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R

esearch is crucial for lasting and sustainable growth in our lives, for environmental respect for the future of our children and grandchildren, and for the creation of qualified jobs for all generations,” Luxembourg’s national research foundation, the FNR, says in a brochure published last month. On April 26 the organisation hosted Jules Hoffmann--the Luxembourg-born biologist who received the 2011 Nobel Prize for medicine--for a symposium on making the Grand Duchy an attractive place for young top researchers from around the world. The conference debuted online video interviews-which can be seen at www.fnr.lu/films--with the

eight recipients of the foundation’s “ATTRACT” fellowships, each of which is worth up to €1.5 million.

Last year the FNR also committed more than 40 million euro in research grants for institutions, established scientists and doctorate and post-doctorate researchers, a spokeswoman tells Delano. In addition to funding opportunities, young scientists want to work in a place where a lot of cool research is being done. Does Luxembourg stack up? Here are five projects in the bio-medical field--one of the government’s stated priority areas--currently underway (but not necessarily related to the FNR) in the Grand Duchy. .AG

Allergies & chronic conditions

Neurodegenerative diseases

One team at CRP Henri Tudor’s health technology centre is focused “on the use of telemedicine in chronic diseases and how we can improve the management of such public health burdens by using computer-aided decision support systems,” explains Dr. Norbert Rösch, head of the Biomedical Engineering and Public Health unit. His team’s Wikifood. eu ­programme helps food allergy patients find out exactly what is inside their shopping carts. An Android app joined the website and iPhone versions last month. “We have learned that the intelligent use of food information--ingredients, ­nutrition values--is not only interesting in the field of allergies, but important as well for the management of, for example, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular ­diseases.”

Starting this summer, the Integrated BioBank of Luxembourg will be the exclusive European host of “a large ­collection of biological specimens and data collected as part of the EU Joint Programme in Neurodegenerative ­Disease Research”. The programme “is the largest global initiative focused on” maladies such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s ­disease. Luxembourg’s biobank will ­manage physical samples of DNA and human tissue from 55 participating organisations in 25 European countries, as well as run the IT system that will allow scientists to access the library, the IBBL announced last month. The award of such a major contract, says CEO Dr. Catherine Larue, “is very satisfying given that IBBL has been operational for less than three years”.

www.tudor.lu

www.ibbl.lu

Parkinson’s disease Scientists at the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, part of the University of Luxembourg, recently discovered “itaconic acid”, a substance that naturally prevents bacterial growth, in human brains. It was the first time self-made antibiotics had been documented in the brain. The findings--­published last month in the academic ­journal PNAS--came when biologist ­Alessandro Michelucci, studying the interaction between the brain’s immune cells and bacteria, asked a team led by Karsten Hiller to help analyse experiment results. The findings led LCSB director Prof. Rudi Balling to say: “We now intend to study the importance of infections of the nervous system in this respect--and whether itaconic acid can play a role in diagnosing and treating Parkinson’s disease.” www.uni.lu

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MAY 2012

35 16/05/13 10:30

BUSINESS

Good investments

Responsible surge So-called “responsible investment funds” grew by nearly 20% over two years, consultancy KPMG and industry group Alfi say.

Text by Aaron Grunwald

M

36

Nathalie Dogniez Wants sector to move from niche to mainstream

Olivier Minaire (archives)

oney placed in mutual funds that have a “good” purpose has increased by nearly a fifth over two years, a new industry survey has revealed. There was 238 billion euro in total assets under management at “responsible investment funds” in Europe at the end of last year, up 19% from 200 billion euro at the end of 2010, according to KPMG and Alfi’s European Responsible Investing Fund Survey 2013.

To run such funds, managers use “socially responsible” criteria to screen out companies that engage in undesirable behaviour--like having exploitative working conditions in factories--or trade in an undesirable sector--for example, armaments. Europe is home to about 65% of all such assets worldwide, the research found (also see Delano’s April 2013 cover story). Within Europe, the Grand Duchy and France together account for more than half of assets under management at responsible investment funds. France holds 26%, down from 33% in the 2012 study, and Luxembourg is home to 25%, up one point from the previous report. Norway and Denmark each have 8%, while Finland claims 7%.

The Grand Duchy is home to the largest number of the 1,775 responsible investment funds tracked by the KPMG-Alfi study: 28%. The top five are rounded out by France (14%), Belgium (11%), Denmark (6%) and the UK (5%).

“It is an exciting area and it is steadily gaining momentum with investors showing a growing interest in investment strategies that integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria into their investment process,” co-authors Nathalie Dogniez and Jane Wilkinson of KPMG Luxembourg say in the report, which was released at Alfi’s responsible investing conference on May 15.

Indeed, nearly two-thirds of funds in the study screen securities against criteria such as the UN Principles for Responsible Investment and other international standards. Such

“cross-sectoral” ESG funds made up 64% of all responsible investment funds and represented 83% of all assets under management: 198 billion euro. France had the most assets under management in the category (30%), followed by Luxembourg (22%) and Norway (9%), KPMG and Alfi estimate.

Luxembourg was home to the largest amount of assets in funds dedicated to environmental objectives, including renewable energy, water and forestry (45%), followed by Germany and Switzerland (both 5%).

The Grand Duchy also led in the social category, which includes microfinance and social entrepreneurship funds (46%), followed by the Netherlands (18%) and France (14%).

The UK was the largest domicile of ethical fund assets (64%), largely due to its success in marketing Sharia-compliant funds, followed

by Luxembourg (21%) and Ireland (10%).

The survey covered mutual funds domiciled in Europe, but not pension and insurance company assets, the writers explain..

" It is steadily gaining momentum" KPMG-Alfi survey

MAY 2013

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16/05/13 10:35

The story of Europe — as told by those who made it happen

Take a rare glimpse behind the scenes of the events that made European history with insider accounts from major players and eyewitnesses. Let yourself be transported back in time as they tell the stories that make up the big picture, complete with historic moments and anecdotes, breakthroughs and setbacks.

For several years now, the CVCE’s experts have been creating unique footage by interviewing those who have played and continue to play a prominent part in the European integration process, including heads of state, ministers, diplomats and journalists.

The results of this oral history programme, aimed at researchers and the European public, are exclusively available at www.cvce.eu.

Knowing the past to build the future Centre Virtuel de la Connaissance sur l’Europe, Luxembourg

37_PUB _ CVCE.indd 37

16/05/13 11:45

BUSINESS

Corporate meetings

Travel wise Making the most of your business travel budget.

Text by Tonya Stoneman Photography by Olivier Minaire

W

ork today is more global and mobile than ever. The need to connect people from different corners of the earth gives rise to important questions. How can companies make the best of their business travel budgets? When is “tele-presence” conferencing a good option, and when is it better to meet face-to-face?

Joris Eyck, associate regional vice president at HelmsBriscoe, a firm that organises meetings and events, says videoconferencing is a good solution for companies that are under fiscal pressure and time constraints, or for engaging in a routine exchange. “This is very advanced technology, it looks like the other people are sitting in the room with you,” he says. Reduced travel costs, increased productivity and less impact on the environment are added benefits. On the down side, teleconferencing hinders any chance of networking, limits the creative impulse and doesn’t allow scheduling flexibility.

By the year 2015, more people will connect via mobile devices than through computers, but it will always be important to meet some people face-to-face. “Ninety percent of communication is non-verbal,” says Christiane Wagner, marketing and communication associate at travel agency Voyages Emile Weber. “And you can’t read body language from a video screen.”

When a physical meeting is necessary, choosing the right venue can be vitally important. If you have to deliver a bad message, for example, would you want to do that in a virtual setting? “Consider the objective of your meeting,” says Eyck. “Then determine a destination and venue that will contribute to it.”

There are a few things Eyck suggests you remember when booking hotels for your company. You should start with a concrete idea about who will make travel arrangements-individual managers or a travel department-

38

JORIS EYCK Define objective first, venue second

-and a clear forecast of the number of rooms you will need. For example, if you book 25 to 50 rooms with a hotel chain, you can negotiate a preferred rate. The key is to consolidate room nights. Remember to stipulate that if a rate is negotiated, but a lower rate becomes available, that is the one granted. Also, insist on a “last room availability” clause. This means that if the hotel has any rooms available, at whatever cost, they must sell one to you at the contract price. Furthermore, make them guarantee a room for you even if they overbook and move other guests to a different property. These things should be written into your contract.

A lot of companies are dispensing with first class booking in these budget conscious times. But a savvy travel manager can squeeze free upgrades for VIPs out of loyalty points and sky miles. The company credit card should definitely be one that rewards usage. If your company frowns on employees accruing personal sky miles for business travel, see to it that those benefits are re-

routed to the corporation. It’s a shame to let them go to waste.

Cuisine is not typically an area that leaves a lot of room for negotiation, with the exception of breakfast. If you ask that to be included in your room charge, you could end up saving around 25 euro per guest per day in an up-market hotel. But, if you’re booking a conference, this is not the place to pinch pennies. A chef can simply manipulate the menu to bring his costs in line with your budget.

That means your people will be dining on chicken instead of filet mignon--and delegates always talk about the food. For individual booking, keep in mind that people who travel a lot need to eat well. But their budget should always be pre-determined and clearly communicated.

One of the most common mistakes companies make is not having an official travel policy. “It’s important to have a transparent and clear policy,” says Wagner. “The duration of stay, category of hotel, and cost of meals should be firmly established.”

may 2013

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BUSINESS

Article 2 pages

Work smarter not harder

CHRISTIANE WAGNER Who will your boss call at 3 a.m.?

Being organised is essential and can yield big savings. If you are doing the contracting, ask for loyalty programs. Many offer benefits for consolidated business travel. Points can be used to benefit your company, save on hotels and airfares, or to upgrade travellers.

If your company is managing a lot of travel but doesn’t have an official travel department, you might consider outsourcing this work. Time is money and the savings dedicated professionals can offer you more than cover the cost of their fees.

Wagner encourages companies to take advantage of a professional travel manager’s expertise and industry contacts. “We have corporate deals with airlines and hotels and can find you the best rates and conditions,” she says. Furthermore, her agency offers 24-hour assistance worldwide to clients. That means if your general manager runs into problems while travelling to New York, he won’t be calling you in the middle of the night. Someone who is paid to ensure his travel goes smoothly will take care of it for you..

Even the best manager can’t do it all. There are a lot of tools that can help you be more efficient in managing travel:

" Ninety percent of communication is non-verbal " Christiane Wagner

www.tripit.com

SkyScanner: This search engine finds the best route by allowing you to see travel connections you might never have considered. www.skyscanner.net

Amadeus: This global trip planner offers hotel, car, and flight information, driving directions, subway maps, airport guides and currency conversions. www.amadeus.net

Concur: This digital travel manager helps you with ­invoicing, expense reporting and data tracking. www.concur.com

38-39_art Bus travel 2.indd 39

TripIt: Organise your travel plans into an itinerary containing all your trip details. Simply forward your confirmation emails and TripIt will build an itinerary you can share with partners and associates. It also tracks loyalty points.

may 2013

39 16/05/13 10:39

BUSINESS

British Chamber of Commerce

New captain at the helm

The BCC’s newly elected chairman, John Johnston, explains his ambitions for the chamber and how he sees its role in Luxembourg’s business landscape.

Text by Duncan Roberts Photography by Olivier Minaire

O

nly recently active in the British Chamber, John Johnston says that the roles of chambers of commerce come to the fore in what he says are challenging times. “They are a very good conduit for thought leadership and discussion in critical subjects that affect everybody.”

Johnston replaces long-serving chair Robert Deed at the helm of the chamber, which is one of the largest in the Grand Duchy. Like Deed, Johnston is very business-like and gives careful consideration when he talks.

Among the challenges that he thinks Luxembourg faces is how to attract talent. “If we look at that from a British Chamber perspective, many of our member companies need to be highly competitive and being able to attract and hire quality people is a key element of that.” So opening up that subject for discussion, at an event such as the conference on the use of social media (see page 36), was important. Tax and HR are also key subjects that are undergoing change in Luxembourg and will be the focus of future events.

Johnston is adamant that the chamber cannot be static. “I think it is very important for the chamber that we are a reflection of our membership and that it is not some private club which enjoys a nice dinner or event,” he says. “It is important that we are extremely active amongst our membership, that we listen and understand the issues that they are facing.

And as a representative chamber that we are either able to promote the discussion at the right level, almost as a think-tank, to engage with the Luxem­­bourg authorities, engage with the wider business community and be perceived and to act as a key element in the success of them asa company.” This approach could help companies decide both tactically in the short term and strategically in the long term their business plan, says the new chair.

Nevertheless, Johnston does not underestimate the value of the chamber as an “excellent networking organisation” with some UK household names among its broad spec-

40

JOHN JOHNSTON Chamber can act almost as a think-tank

trum of membership. “That is what provides a ­balanced and energetic group,” he explains.

Johnston says that he will look to work closely with the British embassy and other British chambers in the region because he says that finding the right balance between representing its members in Luxembourg and the objectives of the embassy as an extension of the UK government is an interesting role. And working with other chambers in Luxembourg is also an objective.

“There is a lot of common ground and if we can align properly on that we have a much louder voice and a much more effective strategic value when we are lobbying at government level.”

As a CEO of a Luxembourg headquartered multinational with an office in London, what happens in Europe, Luxembourg and the UK is of fundamental importance to how Johnston’s business operates. “That is why we joined the chamber and why it is a tremendous honour for me to have be elected and to lead the British Chamber today.”.

Biographical note

John Johnston is the CEO of Luxembourg based CHAMP ­Cargosystems and a former CIO & vice president of Cargolux Airlines International. He has held senior executive positions in the aviation industry in several countries and has provided ­senior management and consulting services to a number of global airlines. He holds a master’s degree in business administration and has been in the IT industry for over 25 years.

He has been involved in the development of computer hardware, radio frequency hand held systems, and air cargo software solutions. www.bcc.lu

may 2013

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16/05/13 17:34

Innovating together

RETHINK INNOVATION THINK TUDOR As a leader in applied research in Luxembourg, Tudor responds to your needs by mobilising its scientific and technological competences in nine innovation programmes, each targeting specific challenges.

Manufacturing industry

Mobility

public sErvicEs

construction

transport & logistics

innofinancE

EcotEchnology

hEalth

huMan capital

For further information: w w w.tudor.lu/innovation-programmes w

41_PUB _ CRP HENRI TUDOR _ BUSINESS INITIATIVE.indd 41

16/05/13 11:51

THINK LOCAL

Polish

“Meet new people and help others” Second time resident Kasia Wyleciał gives her insight into living and working in the Grand Duchy, in the 20th instalment of Delano’s “Think Local” interview series.

Interview by Aaron Grunwald Photography by Steve Eastwood

Originally from Leszczyny, about 100 kilometres west of Kraków, Kasia Wyleciał worked as an au pair in Diekirch before stints in Atlanta and Geneva. She returned to Luxembourg two and a half years ago. Today she is a marketing assistant at Eurofins Scientific, is completing a master’s at the University of Luxembourg, and volunteers with the social networking group InterNations (see page 22).

KASIA WYLECIAŁ Other expats know solutions to your problems

42 42_ThinkLocal.indd 42

AG: What brought you to the Grand Duchy in 2008?

KW: When I finished my bachelor’s studies in Poland, I decided to go to a German speaking country, to improve my German. I wanted to go to Germany, but I ended up in Luxembourg.

AG: And why did you return in 2010?

KW: As you know some people come to Luxembourg ‘just for a bit of time’ but then they stay longer. I came to Luxembourg, I left Luxembourg, and then I decided to come back to Luxembourg because I really liked the country.

And my friends were here. So I applied to the University of Luxembourg.

AG: You are pursuing a master’s degree in learning and development in multilingual and multicultural contexts. What drew you to this programme?

KW: This master’s is a bit of communication, languages… so it was a bit of linguistics but in this multilingual context, which I really liked. I also liked the idea that the master’s was in three languages.

It was a really multicultural group-they admitted people from Turkey, the US, France, Germany, the UK, Switzerland, Poland, Mexico, Iran--which was good because when we had courses about cultural diversity or multilingual context, then it was really good to share experiences with people who all are from different backgrounds.

AG: What is your thesis about?

KW: I decided to write about the knowledge sharing process. So, how people share knowledge and information in [the InterNations] community, and also what is the motivation to do it, how they do it, which tools they

use on the website, basically the whole process.

AG: What about volunteering with InterNations appeals to you personally?

KW: Because sometimes when people come to Luxembourg they don’t know how to meet new people. They share the same problems, [ for example] how to find accommodation.

That’s why I thought it would be good to get involved and also to meet new people and help others, to share my experiences, [such as] how to find a better job, how to find an internship, how to deal better with all the problems you encounter when you come as an expat to Luxembourg.

AG: When you first arrived, what was your own biggest problem?

KW: The three languages! Especially when I’d go to a shop and I didn’t know what language I should use!

I noticed after some time that French is the most common language that is used in shops, so then I thought, maybe I should start learning French as well.

AG: What is your advice for newcomers?

KW: It’s just to get to know people, to get involved in activities. Because there are different kinds of things you can do in Luxembourg. Some people say Luxembourg is boring, but I don’t think it’s boring. You have a lot of activities that you can take part in.

In my case, I managed to meet so many new people. Now I have a really nice group of friends, and it’s really international. It’s really nice.

The other thing is also to get to know the language. Even a bit of Luxembourgish is really good to know. .

may 2013

06/05/13 14:16

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for the widest choice in terms of fashion and food in the whole Saar-Lor-Lux region

www.belle-etoile.lu Discover 35 new stores: COOL CAT

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43_ PUB _ CREATEAM.indd 43

16/05/13 11:44

AGENDA

ten events

Delano presents a selection of upcoming business and networking events for Luxembourg’s international community. Advance registration or fees may be required, so consult the website indicated for full details.

All events are held in English unless otherwise noted.

Amcham

Amcham

Sacred Heart Univ.

Toastmasters

www.amcham.lu

www.amcham.lu

www.shu.lu

district59.eu

Mon 3 June

Tue 25 June + Mon 1 July

“Save” the date

Good practise

The June ABAL guest speaker is René Closter, chief of Luxembourg Air Rescue, the medical repatriation service which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.

Légère Hotel, Munsbach, 12:00

British Chamber www.bcc.lu

Wed 5 June

People problems?

Share your HR challenges during the BCC’s “people café”. The informal dialogue over drinks and canapés will help the chamber identify the right topics for future events.

Art Café, Luxembourg-city centre, 18:15-22:00

Mon 10 June

Thu 13 June

Choice networking

Looking 17 years ahead

The American chamber hosts Nicolas Schmit, the immigration and labour minister, for an annual networking event that has become a members’ favourite.

Hotel Sofitel, Luxembourg-Kirchberg, 12:00

The ninth and final in SHU’s series of conferences on the Grand Duchy’s future will present “a tentative sketch of Luxembourg in 2030”. Speakers include academic director Prof. Alfred Steinherr.

Chamber of Commerce, LuxembourgKirchberg, 18:00

www.cc.lu

www.bcc.lu

club.paperjam.lu

Fri 28 June

Golf day

www.apsi.lu

Thu 6 June

Cloudy forecast

Cloud computing has gone from “the new frontier of corporate IT” to ubiquitous ­solution. Tech professionals club Apsi asks “how far will the market grow?” Speakers include SecureIT’s Gary Kneip.

Chamber of Commerce, LuxembourgKirchberg, 13:30

136 x 27,5 mm

44_Ten-Events.indd 44

British Chamber

Chamber of Commerce

Apsi

44

Public speaking group Casemates Communicators Toastmasters Club meets two Tuesday evenings, and Greenheart Toastmasters Club meets two Monday evenings per month. No requirement to be a native Anglophone.

Check website for venues and times

Wed 12 - Thu 13 June

Tue 18 June

Cross-border confab

Durable plans

The second Greater Region Business Days event is a chance for firms big and small to network, to see and be seen. The B2B salon drew more than 1,600 visitors and 158 exhibitors last year.

Luxexpo, Luxembourg-Kirchberg, all day event

Interactive workshops on integrating and growing corporate sustainability in your organisation’s strategy and culture. Speakers include Ernst & Young’s Carmen von Nell-Breuning.

Abbaye de Neumünster, LuxembourgGrund, 8:30

The chamber’s annual charity golf tourney, an 18-hole individual Stableford competition is followed by cocktails and a prize-giving dinner. An afternoon beginner’s clinic is offered by the club pro.

Golf Club de Luxembourg, Junglinster, starting at 10:00

Irish Chamber www.ilcc.lu

Tue 2 July

Enter the lair

The Irish Luxembourg Chamber of ­Commerce hosts an “evening event on innovation involving a pitching-style Dragon’s Den format”.

Venue to be announced, 18:30

Have a suggestion?

If your organisation is holding an event of interest to the international community, send details to: news@delano.lu.

may 2013

16/05/13 10:51

CITY MAG Life in the capital Cultural agenda

urg o b m e x u L . f n o o i y T T i p i c r e c h s T e sub e r f a u o offers* y vdl.lu e. ail: citymag@ agazine for fre 47 96-41 14. Em Luxembourg. receive the m of d y an ch g ur Du d bo m an Phone: (+352) e Gr in Luxe addresses in th sional address * Valid for the use your profes s: er ut m m co Cross-border

45_PUB City-Mag_Delano_06_13.indd _ CITY MAG.indd 45 1

16/05/13 11:43 11:22

Summer living

From tasting Moselle wines to enjoying artisanal ice cream or an al fresco dinner suspended 50 metres in the sky, this summer has plenty to offer.

David Laurent

Luc Deflorenne

Despite what Hubert Clasen (photo) called “adverse weather conditions” Bernard-Massard’s prestigious Domaine Thill and Clos des Rochers labels have produced promising wines from its 2012 harvest. Especially recommended from Domaine Thill Château de Schengen are the Pinot Blanc, which is a beautifully rounded wine with citrus notes and the Auxerrois, which has hints of more exotic fruits. The Clos des Rochers Grevenmacher Fels Pinot Gris has subtle spicy features after being finished in wood barrels, while the label’s Ahn Palmberg Riesling is almost peachy with what cellar master Stephan Krämer describes as a “guaranteed fun factor”. www.clos-des-rochers.com, www.domaine-thill.com

David Laurent

Luc Deflorenne

Olivier Minaire

Open and fruity

Gourmet ice cream

German luxury

Exotic design

Danish dynamite

Bargello’s Laura Fontani has created gourmet ice cream, sorbets and frozen desserts using methods devised in Renaissance Florence.

She eschews artificial colouring and she uses a classic pozzetti to store the frozen produce.

Glacier Bargello, 13-15 rue du Fort Elisabeth, Luxembourg-Gare, www.bargello.lu

Montblanc has opened a new flagship store on the Grand-Rue. The 100 square metre boutique stocks the full range of Montblanc products including exquisite time pieces, luxury leather goods and, of course fine writing instruments-for which the brand has been famous since it started in--all featuring the distinctive rounded star logo.

Montblanc, 31 Grand-Rue, Luxembourg-Centre, www.montblanc.com

Frederique Buck’s new store Maalem specialises in beautiful interior design, accessories and home furnishing objects, many from exotic locales.

Maalem means master craftsman in Arabic and many of the items in the boutique derive from northern Africa and the middle East as well as from Asia.

Maalem, 9 rue du Nord, Luxembourg-Centre, maalemnaturalcrafts.wordpress.com

Danish Deli serves a selection of food for lunch including smørrebrød, salads, and a few hot meat and fish dishes as well as gourmet coffee and cakes. But it is also a shop with a wide selection of Danish food such as Slagter Munch’s famous sausages from Skagen, smoked salmon, organic cheeses, chocolate and sweets, beers and spirits.

Danish Deli, 3 rue Beck, Luxembourg-Centre, www.danishdeli.lu

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LIFESTYLE

International footie

Pirates jazz it up

The annual Rencontre des Nations football tournament is now an established event in the sporting calendar.

The idea is to promote integration and fair play, with teams in the 8-a-side tournament being made up of players of at least two different nationalities.

Teams of eight, groups of four or individual players can register for the June 16 event in Cessange. www.rdn.lu

Luc Deflorenne

Steve Eastwood

Pirate Productions’ new show is titled The Jazz Club. Set sometime in the 1930s-1940s, this original script by directors Julien Farlin and Natasa Vlaovic follows the various characters who inhabit a New York Jazz Club over three evenings. The show, from May 30 to June 1 and June 6 to 8, is presented with a three-course dinner, a full bar and cocktails from the period will also be served. www.pirates.lu

Church fair Held in its traditional venue of the L’Ancien Prieuré in Useldange, the English speaking church fair features every­thing one would expect of an English village fête, or a Luxembourg grillfest--stalls selling books, toys, plants and assorted other items, a bar and crémant tent, a BBQ and baked goods stall, entertainment and races. There is even a cake competition this year.

June 16, Useldange, 1-6 p.m., www.anglican.lu

National Day eve

Comedy gold

Jessica Theis/jess.lu

Summer Ball The Irish Club of Luxembourg’s summer ball this year is being held in the restaurant Le Sud in Rives de Clausen on Saturday June 15, with DJ Sam Steen (photo) providing the music.

The event also includes a charity auction, proceeds of which will go to Aware Ireland and local organisation Stëmm vun der Strooss. Enquiries and bookings can be made via email: party@irishclub.lu. www.irishclub.lu

If celebrations on the eve of National Day, June 22, place in and outside the city’s clubs and bars, with the real action kicking off after the midnight fireworks display and continuing until after dawn.

Luxembourg-Centre, June 21 and 22

Following two performances by Australian comedian Celia Pacquola in May, Konrad Comedy Club hosts two more shows before its summer break.

In June, Canadian Pete Johansson photo flies in Luxembourg from the UK where he has been based since 2008. A year later he had been nominated as best newcomer at the Edinburgh festival and then went on to appear on television--including a slot on Russell Howard’s Good News--and radio.

Following another stint in Canada, Pete returned to the UK two years ago and took what he describes as his returning most challenging show Utopian Crack Pipe to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last year. Johansson has been described as a “natural” comedian, the sort of artist whose “robust material” can be enjoyed without having to make too much effort.

The July show features UK comedian Tom Craine, part of comic group Jigsaw who also performs solo. He is also a writer for shows like Mock The Week and 8 out of 10 Cats and hosted his own radio show on BBC Bristol. He has toured with comedians of the calibre of Rhod Gilbert and Alan Carr and was the 2010 Observer Critics’ Choice at Edinburgh.

Pete Johansson: June 19 and 20, Tom Craine: July 17 and 18, Konrad Comedy Club, rue du Nord, Luxembourg-Centre, Find Konrad Café & Bar on Facebook

Holy Ghost party Lucien Elsen has been hosting a party for National Day eve in the rue St. Esprit since the early 1990s. The Holy Ghost Street Party this year is preceded by live music for the Fête de la Musique on June 21, featuring Say Yes Dog and Reptile Youth among ­others.

The following day’s party, in conjunction with Food for your Senses, includes performances from Dirty Honkers (photo) and Unknown Flying Orchestra as well as sets by DJs Maxwell George, Chris Beck and Double P. Rue du St. Esprit, Luxembourg-Centre, June 21 and 22

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Philharmonie

A winning season

Anne Sophie Mutter Plays Brahms with the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

The Philharmonie and the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg have unveiled details of the 2013-14 programme at the prestigious Kirchberg concert venue.

Text by Duncan Roberts Photo by Tina Tahir/Shotview photographers/DG

S

ome eight years after it opened, there is no doubt that the Philharmonie on the Kirchberg is a success with both concert-goers and performers.

The venue attracts some of the biggest names on the classical, jazz and world music circuit and hosts a series of innovative programmes aimed at audiences that might not traditionally visit a classical music concert hall.

The Phil’s next season is one that it has labelled as “trust, continuity, and innovation”. The venue will host a total of 285 concerts (not counting school concerts), almost half of which feature a Luxembourg artist in one form or another.

Perhaps one of the most innovative series, introduced during the 2012-13 season, is the Aventure+ programme that features a concert in the main auditorium followed by a performance in the foyer. The new season of Aventure+ events has a geographical theme, with America, Austria and Africa in the spotlight. The latter concert, in January next year, will include the world premier of a new work by Philip Glass, especially commissioned by the OPL, and featuring a vocal performance by Angélique Kidjo. This is followed by a performance in the foyer by Mamadou Diabate’s Percussion Mania.

A further highlight is provided by the first appearance at the Philharmonie of the Berlin Philharmonic conducted

by Sir Simon Rattle in March 2014.

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The concert will include Brahms’s Third Symphony, Debussy’s La Mer, and a new work by Georg Friedrich Haas, commissioned from the composer by the Berlin Philharmonic and C ­ arnegie Hall.

Japanese jazz pianist and composer Hiromi Uehara returns to Luxembourg following a performance with her trio at den Atelier as part of last year’s Printemps Musical festival. This time she performs solo in the Philharmonie’s grand auditorium. Jazz guitarist John McLaughlin also performs at the Phil’s next season. He is joined by Indian tabla maestro Zakir Hussain to revisit the Shakti fusion project that McLaughlin launched in the 1970s and revived in 1997 for what is described as “a thoroughly laid-back encounter between East and West at the highest musical level.”

Also performing in the new season is popular and critically acclaimed ­violinist Anne Sophie Mutter, who will perform Brahms’ Violin Concerto with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andris Nelsons.

Tickets for individual concerts usually go on sake around one month in advance, but a variety of season ticket packages are already available.. www.philharmonie.lu

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07/05/13 11:55

MICHAEL CLARK COMPANY NEW WORK - TRIPLE BILL © HUGO GLENDINNING

WITH 6 DANCERS 20 & 21 JUNE 2013 AT 8PM AT THE GRAND THÉÂTRE » … Clark is now beyond doubt one of Britain’s most important living creators of dance.

The Daily Telegraph

ADULTS 25 € 20 € 15 € / STUDENTS 8 € INFORMATION WWW.LESTHEATRES.LU BOOKING WWW.LUXEMBOURGTICKET.LU GRAND THÉÂTRE 1, ROND- POINT SCHUMAN L-2525 LUXEMBOURG

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T. +352/47 08 95-1

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COVERSTORY

Patrick Bartz den Atelier

Marc Hauser Exit07

Olivier Toth Rockhal

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COVERSTORY

Live music ven

ues

The gigs are alright

Danielle Igniti opderschmelz

Paul Bradshaw

fans of live music Twenty years ago jazz or blues had who were not into h the occasional to be content wit afe” artists like one-off show by “s en in a converted Tanita Tikaram, oft r was little room fo e er h T l. al h s rt o sp he audiences or specialist gigs, nic w raws. That has no major box-office d do Luxembourg’s changed, but how d continue to venues operate an in a newly attract audiences t? competitive marke Text by Duncan

Roberts

id Lau Julien Becker, Dav

rent, Guido Karp

Kulturfabrik

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COVERSTORY

Venue guide Where to watch live music

Rockhal

Belval avenue du Rock’n’Roll Opened September 2005 Capacity: 6,500 (main hall), 1,100 (Club) 2012: 137 shows www.rockhal.lu

Junip New talent at Exit07

M

arc Hauser considers himself a lucky man.

“All those lazy years as a student have paid off,” says the Exit07 music programme booker with an ironic smile as he sits on the venue’s sunny terrace. He refers to the salad days of following new music and booking gigs in small Luxembourg clubs, before being asked to lend a creative touch to the original Exit07 venue’s programme during Luxembourg’s reign as capital of culture. When the venue was later established on a permanent basis, Hauser was the obvious choice to run the music programme.

Now he is enjoying Exit07’s success as it gears up for its annual Congés Annulés programme in August and revels in the jury choice award it won at the annual Nightlife Awards.

At Exit07, Hauser enjoys bringing new bands to Luxembourg and especially catching new acts on their first European tour. “It is cheaper,” he laughs. Hauser reads blogs and magazines and sometimes gets suggestions from agents and managers. “Though mostly I am running after them. And then, the more classic way is to buy records. The best way is to buy a 7” just before the album and catch an act at the right time.”

Thriving The venue has a loyal core audience and then attracts a diverse additional crowd depending on the artist or genre--the venue hosts anything from indie pop to lo-fi, folk-rock, and experimental electro. Yet Hauser still faces a challenge to attract audiences for unknown acts. “I think the best way to enjoy a gig is still to come and be surprised. It is not waiting for your favourite song, which then ends up being slightly different from the record.”

There is no doubt Luxembourg’s live music scene is thriving like never before. The financial

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“I think the best way to enjoy a gig is still to come and be surprised” Marc Hauser (Exit07)

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Exit07

Sven Becker

Hollerich CarréRotondes, rue de l’Aciérie Opened September 2008 Capacity: 250 2012: 50 shows www.rotondes.lu

atelier

Hollerich rue de Hollerich Opened October 1995 Capacity: 1,000 2012: 133 shows www.atelier.lu

Kulturfabrik

Opderschmelz

Esch-sur-Alzette rue de Luxembourg Opened October 1998 Capacity: 950 2012: 55 shows www.kulturfabrik.lu

crisis has had little impact on ticket sales and venues such as Exit07, the Rockhal, opderschmelz and Kulturfabrik enjoy public funding. But it is also down to the passion of bookers like Hauser, which is matched by his fellow professionals--at opderschmelz Danielle Igniti’s desk is littered with jazz magazines (Dudelange is marketing itself as a “ jazz city”), Kulturfabrik’s Paul Bradshaw plays in local outfits La Fa Connected and Mount Stealth, Olivier Toth at Rockhal also plays in a band (LDC) and is a champion of local music through his involvement in music:LX. Then of course, there is Patrick Bartz. Together with Laurent Loschetter he founded den Atelier, the venue that can claim to be the daddy of them all. It was a brave decision and required perseverance, but 18 years later the rue de Hollerich venue is firmly established and has spread its wings with what is now a very successful two-day festival--Rock-A-Field--and promotes shows in other venues. “As a promoter we are the one that explores the most different locations, some of which have become regular and others have been a one-off,” Bartz explains. The Atelier regularly uses the Rockhal in Esch-Belval, which has a main hall capacity six times that of the Hollerich venue. “It is a sort of marriage of convenience,” Bartz explains. “Well not really a marriage. We are competitors but we are not really bothered by their programme--but it is a necessary infrastructure for us for larger shows.”

Plans for the Atelier to move to the Hollerich abattoir--currently used as a skater park--have been completely abandoned following a furore from local residents. Instead, the venue has bought the adjacent Soulkitchen bar, long a favourite hangout for post-concert drinks in its former guise as The Elevator. “The Soulkitchen is a rollercoaster--it offers exciting rides,” says Bartz while singing the praises of Soulkitchen

Dudelange rue du Centenaire Opened December 2007 Capacity: 600 2012: 28 shows (music not classical) www.opderschmelz.lu

manager Sean McInerney as “someone who really knows the scene”. Bartz is pleased that the Soulkitchen has taken on a life of its own, and reveals plans for this summer to open it up into the courtyard of the Atelier to give it a friendlier atmosphere.

Family entertainment At the other end of the scale, Bartz was thrilled at the success of the five-night run of touring musical We Will Rock You at the Rockhal. “We have set ourselves a new challenge, which is to bring more family entertainment to Luxembourg.”

Olivier Toth says he too is keen to open up the Rockhal to more “ family oriented” entertainment. He says that after eight years the venue has succeeded in its mission but acknowledges: “There are a lot of ideas and things we can do to push the venue further.”

The Rockhal may be viewed by some as the behemoth of Luxembourg venues, a purposebuilt hangar that hosts big rock and pop shows, but it is also heavily involved in helping young and local musicians to develop. Its music and resources department has rehearsal rooms and a studio, which allows local bands to meet fellow artists and music industry professionals.

This led to the Sonic Visions festival, which is an established European music conference and showcase festival that now includes headliners of the calibre of Sigur Rós and The XX. “It allows people to discover new acts and the artists to get a foot in the door.”

The Rockhal also hosts free showcase gigs for developing international artists who come to Luxembourg to meet other artists and gain experience. “This is like the Sonic Visions discovery spirit throughout the year. Wallis Bird,

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COVERSTORY Lana del Rey Sell out show promoted by den Atelier at the Rockhal

for instance, played a showcase at [adjacent centre (as well as concerts it hosts exhibibar] Urban then at Sonic Visions and was then tions, workshops, theatre and festivals). It booked at the Fête de la Musique in Dudelange.” is funded equally by the city of Esch and the state. Paul Bradshaw, a Brit who grew up in Luxembourg, was in the local music scene and practised at Kulturfabrik before he was Dudelange’s opderschmelz is an ideal venue hired as its alternative music booker. “My for a singer-songwriter like Bird or recent guest vision is to bring bands who have never been Mark Eitzel, who has played the venue three to Luxembourg before.” He is happy that Kufa times. Director Danielle Igniti is in charge of has found its niche--which is mainly hardcore jazz programming and insists that the venue and metal but can also be anything from purposefully avoids mainstream acts. “We reggae and dub to hip-hop and post-rock. “I are a public service for the city of Dudelange, so didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes,” he says, that requires us to promote Luxembourg artists explaining that other venues are doing a great and culture; something that has quality and job at what they do. “The place has a history a message. In Luxembourg the programme is and I wanted to figure out a certain identity more important than the public,” she says wryly. that I thought corresponded to the Kulturfabrik Sharing a “culturally active” audience that she and also what other people saw in this place, estimates to be around 6,000 means focusing particularly Luxembourg people.”

Bradshaw’s experience of playing in bands on niches is essential. The venue hosts an ambitious jazz programme throughout the year and has helped him understand the requirements also has its new Like A Jazz Machine festival of musicians and have a global view of the that has brought artists of the calibre of Ravi business, while as a fan the public funding does Coltrane or Bill Evans to the Grand Duchy. “But allow Kufa to keep prices as realistic and as fair it is difficult if people don’t want to experience as possible. “The aim is to break even and any money we do make is reinvested elsewhere. If we new things.”

A former abattoir and squat, Kulturfabrik put on acts for 10 euro, that would be great for the used to host makeshift concerts and events audience but not for us and wouldn’t correspond before it was turned into an official cultural to what the act is charging elsewhere.”

Culture not mainstream

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“We have set ourselves a new challenge, which is to bring more family entertain ment to Luxembourg” Patrick Bartz (den atelier)

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LIFESTYLE

Travel

Bridge to Istanbul It is said that the world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page. Though travelling has become increasingly easy, it’s nice to know there are always new pages to read… even when you take off from Luxembourg.

Text by Neel Chrillesen Photography by Luc Deflorenne

I

t might not be noticeable, but F­ indel has never been so busy. For the first time, the airport is expected to handle over two million passengers in 2013. This is mainly due to the recent launches of new routes by easyJet (to London and Milano) and Vueling ­ (to Barcelona). On June 25, Turkish ­Airlines will join the newcomers and open a new route, to Istanbul. “People have been waiting for three years for this to happen, in part to have an easier access to destinations in the Middle East, like connections to Dubai with less than two hours waiting time,” says Tuncay Eminoglu, general manager of Turkish Airlines in the Grand Duchy.

“At the moment, two thirds of the bookings already made have been from people outside Luxembourg, but though we’re expecting to recover a lot of passengers from other airports across the borders; once we’re up and running I think most will come from inside the country.”

The goal is to satisfy both business and leisure travellers, those who want to discover Istanbul or holiday in Turkey, as well as those who will be using Istanbul Ataturk Airport as a gateway to further destinations. “To start with we’re flying four days a week from Findel but we’re hoping to establish daily flights already next year. That will also make connection time in Istanbul shorter.” Passengers will board an Airbus 319 on weekdays and

a Boeing 738 on Sundays--“the newest ones in our fleet. For Luxembourg we found that was very important.”

A Turkish Airlines sales office is also opening in Luxembourg’s airport and he hopes to help “pressure” Findel management to “expand facilities” there.

Despite the Turkish Airlines Corporate Club and free city tours of Istanbul for those with long connections, the new route also offers a great opportunity to take a trip to Turkey’s largest city.

“Everyone should see Istanbul at least once in his or her life”, says Eminoglu, who was born and raised there. “It’s not only a perfect bridge between Europe and Asia, it’s a city that’s fully alive 24 hours a day. Nothing ever closes--even shopping centres are open on Sundays and holidays. People are always awake, streets always busy.

And there’s so much to see and do.”

The unavoidable Haghia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Topkapı Palace and Grand Bazaar are far, far from the only magical places to visit, and smoking water pipes, visiting hamams, eating lokums and ferrying around the Bosphorus far from the only things to do. “Istanbul is like a country in itself. You should of course also explore our Ottoman ­cuisine. Those who rave about French cooking have never tasted authentic Turkish food!”. www.turkishairlines.com

TUNCAY EMINOGLU Wants you to visit Turkey’s largest city

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Barcelona low-cost

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Last minute sun “In May and June, we will have a lot of interesting last minute offers to sunny destinations, including some of our most popular in Turkey and Spain,” says Emile Weber director Fernand Heinisch. “It’s always best to go directly to our agencies to get the most interesting deals. Having a face-to-face contact with our staff is a plus anyway, no matter which type of our products you’re looking for--nothing beats ­personalised advice!” www.voyages-weber.lu

Sales-Lentz

Wonderful Copenhagen

05

Voyages Emile Weber

Christian Alsing/Wonderful Copenhagen

04

Summer in the City

Expert advice To make sure you talk with the best agent when making your travel plans Sales-Lentz has recently put the www.travelexperts.lu portal online.

Based on what kind of trip you’re ­looking for, a detailed list of agents ­specialised in your particular destination or type of travel will pop up. So if you’re looking for a golf holiday in Portugal for example, you’ll know which agent knows the country’s golf courses inside out. www.sales-lentz.lu

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Easy Milano EasyJet arrived in Luxembourg last October offering cheap flights to ­Gatwick (a success: the frequency of the London service has recently been increased to six weekly flights).

Last month the British airline launched a new route from Findel to Milan (four weekly flights). Italy’s second largest city will host the World Expo next (in 2015), so is as stylish and bustling as ever. This year’s must-see Da Vinci ­exhibition is on till end of July. Hurry! www.easyjet.com

Going to Barcelona from Luxembourg got easier--and cheaper--May 17. The Spanish low-cost company Vueling started a new route from Findel, ­meaning there are four flights per week to the bubbly capital of Catalonia, with tickets from €34.99. A great excuse for taking a sunny, tapas and sangria infused weekend trip to a place that has both a beach and a big city beat, great museums and shop-toyou-drop possibilities. www.vueling.com

Luxair’s new route to Copenhagen opens June 3, just in time for you to book a trip to Denmark’s vibrant capital at a very reasonable price. Summer is the perfect season for visiting the Tivoli Gardens (which inspired Walt Disney to create his first theme park), strolling down Strøget, the pedestrian shopping street, enjoying a local beer at a street café or trying out a Nordic cuisine restaurant. If you can’t get a reservation in one of Copenhagen’s 13 Michelin-starred ones, try a place like Cap Horn (www.caphorn.dk) in Nyhavn, the waterfront district. From here you can also take a canal tour past the Little Mermaid, the Amalienborg royal palace or the Opera House--one of the most expensive ever built. The music and art scenes have much to offer. A large Degas exhibition will open on June 7 at Glyptoteket (www.glyptoteket.com) and a little up north, the breathtaking Louisiana Museum of modern art (www.louisiana.dk) will host a Yoko Ono retrospective.

The Copenhagen Jazz festival takes place from July 5 to 14, unless you prefer to visit the trendy Roskilde festival (June 29 to July 7) where artists like Kraftwerk, Rihanna, Sigur Rós and Slipknot are performing this year. www.luxair.lu

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LIFESTYLE

18 essential live performances

02

The Abbaye de Neumünster’s courtyard concerts are something special, but there is plenty of other top draw culture this summer. For instance, Michael Clark at the Grand Théâtre and indie darlings Alt-J at Rockhal, English-language theatre and the Philharmonie’s traditionally brilliant end of season party.

Text by Duncan Roberts 01

News B

Dead Can Dance One of the acts that made label 4AD such an iconic force for what Pitchfork calls “art goth” in the 1980s, Dead Can Dance are Australian duo Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry. They created an atmospheric blend of amalgam of ambient, African polyrhythms, music from Eastern Europe, Gregorian chants and art rock perfect for a beautiful sunset over the ancient fortress.

July 3, Abbaye de Neumünster, Luxembourg-Grund, www.ccrn.lu 03

Elvis Costello Elvis Costello, born Declan MacManus, should need little introduction. He rose from being a darling star and producer of the new wave intelligentsia to become one of Britain’s finest and most respected songwriters of the last four decades, even though he has made the United States his home.

He appears here with The Imposters.

July 16, Abbaye de Neumünster, Luxembourg-Grund, www.atelier.lu 04

Live at the Abbaye

Michel Camilo and Tomatito

The sun setting over the old fortress ramparts and birds flying across the near horizon, the excited chatter of fans awaiting their idols, the mouth-watering scent of grilled sausages wafting across the courtyard--this is the glorious backdrop for the open air concerts that the Abbaye de Neumünster and den Atelier organise in the courtyard of the cultural centre, formerly an abbey and prison, every July. The den Atelier series started back in 2006 with Sigur Rós and has since hosted acts including Air, Goldfrapp, Katie Melua, ­Bon Iver, PJ Harvey and Joss Stone. This year’s line-up features the brand new musings of Woodkid (photo), followed three days later by the icon of intelligent new wave Elvis Costello.

The Abbaye should provide the perfect setting for Woodkid, aka French video director and musician Yoann Lemoine. Woodkid’s atmospheric pop is matched by his clever and ambitious visuals; it is, says Charlotte Richardson Andrews in The Guardian, “wide-eyed magic and spellbinding pomp.” He played den Atelier to an enthusiastic reception last year, and now with an acclaimed album, The Golden Age, under his belt the Abbaye show should be even better.

July 13, Abbaye de Neumünster, Luxembourg-Grund, www.atelier.lu

The meeting of a Grammy awardwinning pianist and the foremost ­flamenco guitarist of his generation should provide for a thrilling live concert experience at the Abbaye. Michel Camilo from the Dominican Republic is classically trained as well as a straightahead acoustic jazz pianist, while Tomatito from Andalucía was born into a family of gypsies and has spent his life dedicated to the flamenco guitar.

July 14, Abbaye de Neumünster, Luxembourg-Grund, www.ccrn.lu

In a perfect place

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1970

Enamelled plaque, 1930

Coffeecan

A JO U RNEY TH RO U GH TH E H IS TO RY O F LU XEMBO U RG CO MMERCE

Cash register, 1935

1960 Wrapping box, 1950

Grocery shop for children

1920

ION T I B I 013 EXH 2 Y A M 7 1 M 14 0 FRO 2 H RC A M 0 TO 3

Sun umbrella, 1900

Hatbox Advertising ashtray, 1960

1955 Agfa advertising medium, 1960

Display counter Pepsi-Cola refrigerator, 1955

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Sophia Spring

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KRS-ONE

Ghostpoet

To celebrate 40 years of hip-hop, ­legendary MC KRS-One comes to den Atelier. As part of Boogie Down Productions with DJ Scott La Rock he released two of hip-hop’s most important albums, debut Criminal Minded and its follow up By All Means Necessary, which was released after La Rock was shot dead after intervening in a fight.

June 1, den Atelier, Luxembourg-Hollerich, www.atelier.lu

Obaro Ejimiwethe is the latest in a rich tradition of urban artists from the UK whose lyrics and distinctive and ­entrancing voice captures the zeitgeist.

As Ghostpoet he has garnered critical acclaim and a Mercury Prize nomination.

He has a brand new album Some Say I So I Say Light.

June 4, Exit07 (CarréRotondes), in association with Rockhal, LuxembourgHollerich, www.rotondes.lu

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Jake Walters

Lyndsey Byrnes

06

Tegan and Sara Fab pop twin sisters Tegan and Sara Quin first came to notice with 2004’s beautiful ‘Walking With A Ghost’, later covered by The White Stripes. Now the duo has cranked up the pop factor with new album Heartthrob, which is a “fully magnified sugar rush of big league pop” of the sort that John Hughes would put in a film if he were still alive, according to The Telegraph’s Helen Brown.

June 24, Rockhal, Esch-Belval, www.rockhal.lu 07

London Brass Formed in 1986 London Brass is made up of players including the principal horn of the Royal Opera House, principal trumpet with the Hallé Orchestra, principal trombone of the Philharmonia Orchestra. Its repertoire ranges from 16th century Venetian composer Giovanni Gabrieli through to Freddie Mercury.

June 13, Trifolion, Echternach, www.trifolion.lu

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Michael Clark Company

Dance to the music Iconic British dancer and choreographer Michael Clark returns with his company to the Grand Théâtre with a triple-bill of new work set to especially commissioned music by Relaxed Muscle and Scritti Politti.

First performed as a double bill at Tramway in Glasgow the show has gone on to The Barbican in London, the Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s and Maison des Arts de Créteil in Paris. With lighting design from Charles Atlas and costumes

by Stevie Stewart, the show was hailed as “the most exhilarating new piece of contemporary dance to appear in Britain this year” by The Telegraph.

The music is, as always with Clark, an essential element of the show. He has worked before with the likes of Wire and The Fall, while his last show, Come, Been and Gone featured music by Berlin era Iggy Pop, Lou Reed and David Bowie. Here the music featured is defiantly contemporary from two of the most iconic bands from the 80s and 90s. New romantic funksters Scritti Politti’s tracks from “comeback” album White Bread Black Beer, while Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker offers tracks from 2003 album A Heavy Night With... by his Relaxed ­Muscle side project.

The show features eight dancers, many of whom have been with the company for some time, and who, in the words of Jenny Gilbert in The Independent “hint at sexual deviancy while holding fast to their f­ ormal froideur.”

June 21 and 22, Grand Théâtre, Luxembourg-Limpertsberg, www.theatres.lu

Murray Perahia Renowned American concert pianist and conductor Murray Perahia ­performs a programme of Mozart with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields.

The evening opens with the Serenade for Orchestra No. 6, Serenata notturna; followed by the Concerto for piano and orchestra No. 26 (the Coronation concerto) and finishes with Symphony No. 39.

June 5, Philharmonie, LuxembourgKirchberg, www.philharmonie.lu 11

Suuns Hailing from Montreal, Suuns has ­garnered plenty of favourable reviews in the music press for what the NME calls its “electrodoomrock… psych-jazz eeriness”. Drawing obvious comparisons with the great Clinic, Suuns’ new album Images du futur is “dance music with rugged edges” that will surely get the Exit07 hipsters moving.

July 2, Exit07 (in collaboration with Rockhal), Luxembourg-Hollerich, www.rotondes.lu

may 2013

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15/05/13 18:16

11 june 2013 Atelier Concert

den Atelier presents

city And colour

Win rt ce c o nk e t s ! tic

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Send an email mentioning “den Atelier/CITYAnD COLOuR� to contest@delano.lu Deadline for entries is 03 june 2013 Winners will be notified by email

14/05/13 14:51

16/05/13 11:40

LIFESTYLE 12

Alt-J

Awesome anticipation The rise of Alt-J last year from word-of-mouth student band to Mercury-nominated critics darlings and now arena filling act has been astonishing. Not that many begrudge the quartet, who first met at Leeds University in 2007, their success. After all, in debut album An Awesome Wave Alt-J has created a rather unique sound--by default if stories about them eschewing bass and bass drum to cut down noise when rehearsing in student halls of residence are to be believed.

For the quartet make accessible art rock that has the listener at first taken aback by the falsetto voice and quirky rhythms and layers of sounds, then has them leaning in to catch the often indecipherable lyrics sung by Joe Newman--things like the oft quoted but wilfully oblique “Tra-la-la, in your snatch fits pleasure, broom-shaped pleasure” opening lines of ‘Fitzpleasure’--and work out how they create such a familiar yet distinct sound.

Similarities in approach to music and sudden rise to fame can be drawn with The XX, except that Alt-J play the Rockhal on their first visit to Luxembourg, denying many the chance to catch them in a more intimate setting. Still, this is one of the most-anticipated concerts of the year and should attract a healthily diverse crowd eager to see if the young upstarts can live up to the hype.

June 19, Rockhal, Esch-Belval, www.rockhal.lu 13

14

Anu Sistonen Luxembourg based Finnish choreographer Anu Sistonen, formerly a premier dancer at the Finnish National Ballet, delivers new work Flood, which comprises two distinct pieces with a watery theme. Against The Flow uses a live piano performance of Chopin’s Piano Sonata no.3 while Gives Life/Takes Life employs live piano and saxophone.

June 17 and 18, Grand Théâtre, Luxembourg-Limpertsberg, www.theatres.lu

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The Goat OPL/Windfuhr The Philharmonie’s contribution to the Fête de la Musique sees the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg conducted by Ulrich Windfuhr in a performance featuring soprano Claudia Galli, soprano tenor Albrecht Kludszuweit and baritone David Pike (photo). The programme features works by Strauss, including excerpts from Die Fledermaus as well as Lehár, Bizet and Verdi.

June 21, Place Guillaume II, Luxembourg-Centre, www.philharmonie.lu

The Actors Rep company makes its debut with a production of Edward Albee’s The Goat, or Who is Sylvia in June. A co-production with the TNL, the play is directed by Erik Abbott assisted by Sandra Ige and features a cast comprised of Timothy Lone, Louisa Graf, Alexander Thomas and ISL student Bram de Vet, making his professional theatrical debut.

June 5, 6, 10, 11 and 12, TNL, Luxembourg-Merl, www.tnl.lu

Phil end of season The annual end of season party at the Philharmonie attracts some of the biggest names in electronic music.

This year it is producer Kevin Saunderson (photo), once of Inner City, who headlines a bill that also features DJ Spinderalla (from Salt-n-Pepa) and Peter Kruder (playing solo). Local hero A Boy Named Seb provides Luxembourg ­flavour to the proceedings.

June 28, Philharmonie, Luxembourg-Kirchberg, www.philharmonie.lu

may 2013

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Martin Grubinger

Aventure+ «America» Sir Willard White «Africa» Angélique Kidjo «Austria» Martin Grubinger

Abos 2013/14 www.philharmonie.lu

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16/05/13 11:39

LIFESTYLE

Happy kids: fun is in the air

There are a lot of different ways to be together as a family. All you need is to make time for it and find some ideas that will please everyone. Text by Neel Chrillesen

01

Big day out

ORT Mullerthal

Mullerthal Trail Family Day

04

05

COSL

COSL

Neel Chrillesen

03

Open Air Konstfestival Lellgen

02

Mark June 9 with a big cross in your calendar because that is Mullerthal Trail Family Day. This year, it will take place around the beautiful Echternach Lake and there will be something to make every member of the family happy (no matter how difficult that person is!).

From 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., an enticing assortment of activities is on the programme, from guided tours for adults to treasure hunts for children. There will be clowns and actors to make you laugh, inflatable castles and trampolines to bolt around in--but that is just the tip of the iceberg. There’s also wall climbing, XXL Legos to build with, houses to paint, nature and science workshops to have adventures in, not forgetting the geocaching activity (finding hidden “geocaches” using a GPS device) and horse-drawn carriage rides. You can of course also just enjoy a picnic, play a round of minigolf or sneak off to the Roman Villa museum.

ORT Région Mullerthal, tel. 72 04 57, email: info@mullerthal.lu, www.mullerthal.lu

Party for everybody

Free Games

Tintin world

Olympic running day

Every year for National Day (June 23), the small village of Lellingen has a big bash: the Open Air Konstfestival. Artists exhibit but also paint live, bands play and sing, actors perform and there are a lot of workshops for kids (painting on silk, glass, sand and t-shirts, sculpture, etc.). This year’s programme also includes acrobats, a professional body painter and a baby elephant.

In other words: a party for everybody, not to be missed. www.konstfestival.lu

The Games of the Small States of Europe take place in Luxembourg this year, which means 900 athletes will be competing here from May 27 to June 1 (also see page 12). It also means you can take your kids to see top notch athletics, basketball, tennis, swimming, cycling, judo, gymnastics, cycling, table tennis, volleyball and trap shooting competitions during the school holidays. But it gets even better: entry to all the sport events is free! www.luxembourg2013.lu

It’s a two hours drive from Luxembourg (to near Brussels), but the Musée Hergé is worth a visit if your kid is a Tintin fan.

Hergé passed away 30 years ago but his well-known character and adventurous reporter lives on. The museum also focuses on Hergé’s own existence--the artist himself never travelled--and shows how his comics came to life. Free entry every first Sunday of the month.

Musée Hergé, 26 rue du Labrador, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, www.museeherge.com

Luxembourg’s Olympic Committee organises the Olympiadag for the 26th time on June 14. Children can take part and run a real race without having to hold an official sport license. Kids born between 2005 and 2009 run 500 meters and those born between 1999 and 2004 run 1,000 meters. The atmosphere is fun (races are not timed), free t-shirts are given to the participants, who also take part in a common warm-up and get running advice. www.cosl.lu/olympiadag

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may 2013

06/05/13 11:32

annonce delano br.pdf

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High-quality travels

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5/15/13 11:46 AM

16/05/13 11:37

MY OTHER LIFE

György Földes

Presenting: Luxembourg City A Hungarian tour guide offers visitors their first impression of Luxembourg.

Text by Tonya Stoneman Photography by Olivier Minaire

O

n Saturday mornings when the hustle and bustle start early, György Földes strolls toward the Golden Lady with a handful of maps and a head full of facts about the city he loves. The obelisk topped by a gilded woman is a suitable meeting place because visitors are interested in the war memorial commemorating fallen Luxembourgish soldiers. And György is an apt tour guide because he, too, arrived in this city as a visitor. “We came here from Hungary--my wife, son and me--in 1992,” he says. “I have been working as civil engineer for Lindab, a Swedish company that produces prefabricated steel buildings, since then.”

György vividly recalls his first trip to Luxembourg. “I came here for a conference in Brussels in 1990. I visited Luxembourg for one day-it was summer and it was raining, but still very impressive.” Now, 23 years later, he is still star struck. “In Hungarian, we would call this city a ‘jewel box.’ In The Hague, there is a beautiful miniature replica of world-famous places called Madurodam. Luxembourg is a life-sized Madurodam.”

Six years ago, György enrolled in a training programme to become an official Luxembourg tour guide so he could tell others about the city he has come to cherish. “My father was a tour guide in Budapest and I was inspired by that,” he says. “He told stories and facts that I hadn’t known before. That was so impressive.”

György’s enthusiasm is contagious and he can prattle off little-known details without a moment’s hesitation: there are more Michelin star restaurants per capita here than any other place in world. The only two-star Italian restaurant outside of Italy is situated on rue Munster (Mosconi). We have the largest Roman mosaic north of the Alps (National Museum of Art and History). The world’s larg-

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est steel producer is located in Luxembourg-ArcelorMittal. The company manufactured hundreds of tons of steel elements for New York’s Freedom Tower. It is the only plant large enough to forge the giant columns and beams required for its structure.

Most of György’s tour groups are composed of Americans or Japanese, but he guides people from all over the world. Many come to see “Little Switzerland”, the Moselle vineyards, or the military museum in Diekirch. No two groups are alike and he never tires of ushering visitors along the city promenade to the Corniche, around the Wenzel Circuit to Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Grand Ducal Palace, and the Bock Casemates.

A typical tour takes about two hours, but each one is different depending on group demographics and, on a good day, György learns “as much” from his clients as they do from him. He often takes US groups to the American Military Cemetery in Hamm, where General Patton was laid to rest.

“There was a 90-year-old veteran from World War II in one of my groups,” he recalls. “He fought in the Battle of the Bulge. It was a great honour to accompany him to that cemetery where his comrades are buried.”

Luxembourg is a great place to stop en route to other European countries, so György hosts plenty of tourists who are stopping over for the night, or not even. “Most people don’t see much more than what I show them,” he says. “They go home with what they think about that one visit.

It’s important to give the right impression.”.

Great attractions

Goethe, while on a short visit to the city in 1792, was inspired to write the following words: “He who has not seen Luxembourg simply cannot picture these war structures, juxtaposed and superimposed as they are... There is so much greatness and grace here, so much gravity combined with gentleness, that one wishes Poussin had employed his wonderful talent in such an environment.”

To book a tour or learn more about the city’s attractions and cultural events, contact the Luxembourg City Tourist Office: www.lcto.lu

György Földes Contagious enthusiasm

May 2013

16/05/13 10:54

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16/05/13 11:36

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16/05/13 08/04/13 12:02 14:46