Delano May 2012

May 2012 – Issue 12 – 4€ – www.delano.lu

Understanding Luxembourg: current affairs, business, lifestyle, Culture

Good taste: Anouk Bastian on the new generation of Moselle wine-makers

17 20 MAY 2012 I

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Phone (+352) 29 66 18-1 Fax (+352) 29 66 19 E-mail publishing@maisonmoderne.lu Publishing Director Mike Koedinger Editorial Director Marc Gerges Editor in chief Duncan Roberts (duncan.roberts@maisonmoderne.lu) Journalist Aaron Grunwald (aaron.grunwald@maisonmoderne.lu) Contributors Neel Chrillesen, Tonya Stoneman Photography Julien Becker, Charles Caratini, Luc Deflorenne, David Laurent/Wide, Olivier Minaire Proofreading Sarah Lambolez, Cathy Weber

The new cool?

Text: Duncan Roberts — Illustration: Quentin Vijoux

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Is Luxembourg about to become one of those best kept secret destinations that suddenly finds itself under the gaze of trendy travel writers and welcoming an influx of weekender tourists who simply have to tick off the Gibraltar of the North from their list of “must-see” cities?

Recent media attention has put Luxembourg in the spotlight as never before. First there was a piece in The Guardian by Keith Kahn-Harris, titled “posh restaurants and free clubbing in the party city”, in which Luxembourg was fêted as a city that was finally “ letting its hair down”. Kahn-Harris is a sociologist and commentator rather than travel writer, but he still manages to encapsulate Luxembourg’s appeal when he says it can host an “unusual party weekend, with great food and post-party pampering, in a city that is easier to navigate than Paris or Berlin.”

Extra cache for Luxembourg’s reputation has been provided with the publication of two new international novels set in the city. Chris Pavone’s espionage thriller The Expats has been

receiving critical acclaim and what The New York Times calls the “salient quirk” of its “unusual setting” has been duly noted. Meanwhile, German writer Tom Hillenbrand has unveiled Rotes Gold, the second novel in his Xavier Kieffer mystery crime series, in which a top Luxembourg chef turns detective. Scandinavian crime novels and TV series helped make Sweden and Norway even cooler than before; could these books do the same for Luxembourg?

In addition, the news that easyJet is to start a service between Findel and Gatwick at the end of October could further strengthen Luxembourg’s appeal: cheap f lights being a priority for many of the travel set looking to spend a long weekend in an unusual destination. The uniqueness of visiting the world’s only Grand Duchy and the new cool factor may mean that, as KahnHarris puts it, Luxembourg’s quiet attempts “to join the list of European short-break destinations” may well come to fruition.

May 2012 - delano - 3

ConTenTS

42 coVeR SToRY

anouK baStIan Becoming a personality She is one of the new generation of Moselle wine-makers taking over their family firms.

How has the craft changed to meet today’s tastebuds?

16

6 cURRenT AFFAIRS

34

20 BUSIneSS

48 lIFeSTYle

DISabLeD rIGhtS The family ministry’s inclusion plan for the disabled is critiqued

two poLeS A shakeup of Luxembourg’s research landscape is unfolding

networKInG Luxembourg-Chile Chamber

Think tank 5 vir 12 tackles crisis

New business law book in English

52 SprInG Fever

10 tIme IS tICKInG

12 eu bLue CarD Long awaited migration reform is here

26 LeGaL pubLIShInG

34 uCItS v Leaked draft made headlines

How general strike changed Luxembourg

Chief says jobs safe after buyout

18 war memorIeS

Seven kids activities

56 muSICaL DISCovery

Philharmonie previews new season

58 on StaGe

36 rbC DexIa

ReGUlARS

50 GoInG natIve

Three events to stay active

28 LeGaL LImbo Biomedical research under microscope

Crown Prince Guillaume to tie the knot

16 royaL weDDInG

59

Eleven shows to catch

SnAPShoTS

38 thInK LoCaL Berglind Ómars: the Icelandic fashion designer explains why she had to move house three weeks after arriving here, Luxembourg’s sense of style, and why she doesn’t miss Skyr too much.

11 St. GeorGe’S Day

66 my other LIFe Claude Sauber: the marketing and communications executive talks about his passion for ballooning, how his father helped introduce the sport to the Grand Duchy, and how it took him to new heights.

24 InDIan Chamber

School fetes its namesake

17 SquaSh

Top field at Junior Open

Minister honours IBCL’s third anniversary

May 2012 - delano - 5

Disabled rights

The InclUSIVe APPRoAch

The family and integration ministry has published its action plan for the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. While welcoming the good intention, some lobby groups think more needs to be done.

Text: duncan Roberts — Photos: Julien Becker

CURRenT aFFaIRS

SaSCHa lanG: national plan is welcome but too wishy-washy

JoËl delVaUX: society needs to adapt to individuals

It took Luxembourg some four and a half years to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, but just one year later the family ministry’s implementation plan is causing something of a stir among interested parties. “Even if Luxembourg is a rich country, it still has a lot to do in terms of the UN Convention,” says Joël Delvaux, a union secretary in the OGB-L’s department for disabled workers. “So maybe it took them so long to ratify the convention because it was afraid of the challenges ahead.” Delvaux says that the convention itself is a very good text. “The approach, to view disabled persons as full citizens with the same rights as everyone else, to get away from the medical aspect and not just see their deficits, is a good one.

So now the talk is less about integration and more about inclusion.” The difference is not just a question of semantics, says Delvaux, who is also a board member of lobby group Nëmme Mat Eis! (“only with us!”). “The idea of integration is to somehow squeeze those people who do not meet the ‘standard’ model into society.

Inclusion is a different approach, recognising that society is made up of individuals who are all different and it is not up to

them to adapt to a standard model, but up to society to adapt to that diversity.”

The idea of creating a national action plan was to directly involve those affected by disability. “There is no question that disability policy can be made exclusively by those who are not disabled,” said family and integration minister Marie-Josée Jacobs in a statement. She explained that the national plan’s aim is to achieve inclusion, but that will require a change in mentality--and from an early age.

Following an appeal by the ministry, four day-long meetings were organised with over 100 participants divided into nine working groups. “That was one of the problems,” says Sascha Lang, a longtime lobbyist for disabled rights with his own German-language internet radio station (www.slangradio.com).

“Many people with a disability also have illnesses so that they find it difficult to attend a day-long meeting.” Furthermore, experts from institutions were given leave to attend the meetings, while those disabled participants who are in employment had to take holiday days.

The working groups looked at what facilities existed in Luxembourg, what

was required and what measures needed to be taken to comply with the UN Convention. The resulting list of demands was taken to various ministries, at which point, says Lang, the red pen was taken out and numerous items struck off the list. “We have to say that it is good that the action plan exists, but it is still unclear what steps should really be taken. Luxembourg tends to make a hobby of undertaking studies--there is probably one about beer mats--but in the end that results in lots of paper but too little concrete content.”

DISAPPoInTeD Lobby groups are most disappointed with the action plan’s take on education and inclusion. “The result is wishywashy,” says Lang. “The government wants more inclusion in schools, but does not want to give up the education différenciée [special needs] system. But we don’t want to abolish education différenciée, just to reduce it. We recognise that there is a continued need for special needs facilities, because not every child can be integrated. But we need to open it so that the specially trained teachers from that system can accompany and support children with a disability in other schools.”

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CURRenT aFFaIRS

MaRIe-JoSÉe JaCoBS: design for all requires a mental attitude

Indeed, according to the UN Convention schools should be open to everyone. And the same should count for sports clubs, says Delvaux. Too much emphasis is placed on supporting “special” sports which creates a parallel world in which the disabled are amongst themselves. “That is a step in the wrong direction. Then you have a situation where non-disabled clubs do something once a year with the disabled to make themselves feel good.”

Nëmme Mat Eis! held a protest march on May 5, the European Day of People with a Disability, to demand the government introduce a programme of personal assistance for the disabled. “There are so many things that a person with a disability cannot do alone,” says Lang. “A blind person cannot conduct bank business alone or read letters without aid, a deaf person cannot communicate at shops or ask for an appointment at the doctor, many people in a wheelchair cannot dress themselves or wash themselves.” There are structures that offer help, such as Stëftung Hëllef Doheem, but they determine the disabled person’s schedule by programming their staff ’s visits. Selfdetermination is only possible, Lang

8 - delano - May 2012

argues, if full-time personal assistants are available, allowing the disabled person to schedule what help they need, when and where. Delvaux agrees. “We need to help people, even those with a strong disability, to live an autonomous life away from institutional confines.”

Sascha Lang says that finding people to train and work as personal assistants should not pose a problem. “It is a question of political will. The cost should not even be an argument, after all we are talking about human rights. What’s more, by employing personal assistants, you are increasing the productivity of the disabled, allowing them to become more integrated into society and you will also be creating jobs.”

ReSPonSIBIlITIeS Nëmme mat Eis! is also lobbying the government to appoint a disability coordinator, someone who can liaise between the political authorities, institutions and those affected and associations. Joël Delvaux is disappointed that the government has found excuses not to appoint a national coordinator, but is full of praise for the City of Luxembourg which has done just that--Madeleine Kayser has

been the Ville de Luxembourg’s social policy coordinator since June 2008. “The fact that the city created that post is incredibly positive, but the government’s refusal to create a national coordinator is totally unacceptable.”

Delvaux says that in general attitudes to the disabled have changed for the better over the past 10 to 15 years.

“Discrimination is difficult to prove,” says Delvaux. “But it is clear that it is still more difficult for a disabled person to find work, and also to find accommodation.” Nevertheless, since he started working in the OGB-L’s office rather than tele-working from home, he has noticed that the attitude of his co-workers has become less patronising and he is treated more like a colleague. “So sometimes things are said about work that are not so positive,” he says with a smile.

It is this attitude that Delvaux wants to encourage more in the disabled, saying that they themselves must rise to the challenge. “Affected people need to show presence, to demand to be included in society. Only if people belong, can what we call ‘normalisation’ occur and problems will be more easily solved.” Lang agrees and says that the changing attitudes of institutions that have started talking with the disabled, rather than about them, is a positive step. “But those with a disability also need to take up our new responsibilities, to show civil courage.

Because the UN convention is not just about rights but also about duty.” www.nemmemateis.lu www.info-handicap.lu

EAQUALS (the European Association for Quality Language Services) est le seul standard de qualité largement reconnu au niveau européen dans le domaine de l’enseignement des langues.

61, rue de strasbourg L-2561 Luxembourg t. +352 40 39 910 info@prolingua.lu

CURRenT aFFaIRS

Crisis

TIMe IS TIcKInG

A new think tank made up of decision makers, consultants and entrepreneurs is seeking to change the country’s mentality and make a better future for Luxembourg.

Text: Duncan Roberts — Photo: Olivier Minaire (archives)

The economic crisis has spurred plenty of debate in Luxembourg, but one determined group of business leaders has taken the idea of talking about the challenges facing the country to a new level. The dozen or so men and women who make up the 5 vir 12 (5 minutes to midnight) association are united in their dedication to steering a new course for the country. “The common ground we share is a concern for the future of the country and a recognition that we need to change people’s mentality to assure a positive future,” says one of the group’s founders, Jean-Claude Bintz. The group started last autumn when around half a dozen thinkers and doers decided to share their ideas about the future of Luxembourg with a wider audience. Above all, they were thinking about their children and grandchildren, says another of the group’s members, Daniel Schneider. “I don’t want my grand-children to say to me one day: why didn’t you do something? Why did you accept this collective unconsciousness?” says Bintz.

So far the group only includes Luxembourgers, but that is not to say that foreign residents are being ignored. The group is pushing for more inclusion of non-Luxembourgers in decision-making, and wants a rethink of voting eligibility in national elections. “If, in 20 years, only 20 percent of residents have the right to vote, who can still pretend that we live in a real democracy?” asks Schneider.

But it is the mentality of Luxembourgers, and particularly the redefinition of education and the public services, that the group seems to think is in most urgent

10 - delano - May 2012

Jean-ClaUde BInTZ and danIel SCHneIdeR: sharing a concern for future generations

need of change. Christine Wickler would like to see civil servants “work hand-inhand with citizens to achieve common objectives,” while Robert Goeres is critical of the weighty administrative procedures required to create a business. “Making an authorisation application is more akin to a crusade in a hostile country than a fast and effective approach,” he says.

While the group is independent of political allegiances and removed from public institutions, it does want to have an impact, to put forward concrete ideas and change what Raymond Schadeck calls “reliability mentality”. Schneider says the group has to deliver “punchy” ideas that can also be provocative. “We would love it if one day people would say ‘5 vir 12 said that...’,” says Bintz.

5 vir 12 articles can be found on www.paperjam.lu

tHE 5 Vir 12 Group Jean-Claude Bintz, CEO and founder Lakehouse Daniel Schneider, founder and managing partner of Tenzing Partners Raymond Schadeck, independent administrator Paul Helminger, former mayor of Luxembourg Betty Fontaine, director of Brasserie Simon Jacques Lanners, director Ceratizit Christiane Wickler, managing director Pall Center Alex Sulkowski, consultant Françoise Folmer, architect, founder and CEO Team 31 Robert Goeres, managing director Goeres Horlogerie Laurent Muller, partner Fiduciaire Muller et Associés Norbert Becker, president Atoz John Penning, director Saphir Capital Partners

SnaPSHoTS

Architect Birgit Wachhorst in hopscotch action

St. George’s Day

School celeBRATeS nAMe DAY Photos: Olivier Minaire

Head teachers Nigel Fossey and Heather Duxbury admire a Diamond Jubilee souvenir held by British ambassador Alice Walpole

US chargé d’affaires David R. Fetter tries his hand at netball

Year 5 girls gave a dance display

The inclement weather did nothing to dampen St. George’s Day celebrations at St. George’s International School in Hamm on April 23. Primary school head teacher Heather Duxbury announced with some regret that for only the second time since the tradition began, the event would have to take place exclusively indoors.

Nevertheless, guests including British ambassador Alice Walpole, US chargé d’affaires David R. Fetter and Indian Chamber of Commerce president Sudhir Kohli were treated to a programme of participative sports and games, music and dance entertainment from Year 2 and Year 5 classes, and a very British afternoon tea featuring cucumber sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam and sprightly conversation from pupils. Guests also got to vote for their favourite dragon art, with the winning designs being chosen to grace the DR school’s year book. www.st-georges.lu

Year 2 pupils perform 'The Grand Old Duke of York'

Guests were served cucumber sandwiches by pupils

Scones were part of the afternoon tea experience

May 2012 - delano - 11

CURRenT aFFaIRS

Immigration

The BlUe cARD

Third country workers will now enjoy common rights with a single permit.

Will this help Luxembourg attract more high skilled staff?

Text: Tonya Stoneman — Photos: Olivier Minaire

The European Union is well on its way to establishing a common policy on immigration. At the close of 2011, the European Parliament voted in favour of the blue card directive, a scheme that provides a single work and residence permit to highly skilled migrants. All EU member states except Denmark, Ireland and the UK are bound by the directive. The intent is to create an easier transition for people hoping to work within the EU. In an article published that same month in European Voice, European commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom argued that, particularly in a time of economic downturn, the EU would do well to attract highly skilled professionals who could play a role in recovery. “Let me be very clear: these specialists do not grab job opportunities from Europeans,” she wrote. “They bring knowledge and experience that would not end up here otherwise. In fighting the economic crisis, we need the right tools to turn the ship around. If we are serious about strength-

INFECTED The fifth outbreak of APR the Schmallenberg livestock virus since early February was confirmed. Each outbreak happened on a different cattle farm and each resulted in a single death. The virus causes stillbirths and birth defects in sheep and cattle.

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DAtELinE April-May 2012

12 - delano - May 2012

ening our competitiveness on the global stage, bringing the right talent to Europe is an issue where we cannot afford to wait any longer.”

But not all parties at the table were enthusiastic. Shortly after the proposal was presented, critics voiced their discontent. South African health minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang suggested that, for his country and other African nations, an EU-wide work permit would worsen an already problematic migration of skilled labour. Moroccan international economic law professor Tajeddine El Husseinie was widely quoted in the press calling the proposal “a new form of colonisation and discrimination” and predicted it would not find support among southern countries.

Nevertheless, despite its detractors, the blue card is here and EU member countries are expected to adapt their national laws to the new rules. Inspired by the US green card (and named for the colour of the EU flag), this direc-

tive seeks to reduce the sizeable amount of red tape individuals and companies deal with when navigating cumbersome immigration requirements. In addition to simplifying the administrative process, the blue card will extend to third country migrants working legally within the EU common rights, similar to those of nationals. Decent basic working conditions, the right to join trade unions, tax benefits, and access to pension, social security, employment office services and public housing are some of those benefits. In

The cRISIS MAKeS ThIS neeD All The MoRe PReSSInG” European Commission

DONATED Luxembourg gave $413 APR million in development assistance during 2011, or 0.99% of gross national income. While proportionally that was down 5% from 2010, the Grand Duchy remains one of the few countries to reach the rich world target of 0.7% of GNI.

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HACKED Citing “human error,” APR the government acknowledged that at least one unauthorised person accessed medical records at the Centre for Sports Medicine last year.

Mandatory training of state employees will be revamped following the “Medicoleak” affair.

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CURRenT aFFaIRS

PaUl SCHonenBeRG: optimistic the blue card will succeed

addition, a generous and welcome caveat for third country migrants-many of whom have historically forfeited retirement earnings--ensures that non-EU workers will be able to receive their pensions when they return to their home country under the same conditions and at the same rates as the nationals of the member state concerned. Individual EU countries will be able to apply some specific restrictions to these rights. eQUAl RIGhTS “The new rules will simplify the permits for both residence and work and will allow third country nationals to enjoy the same rights as workers in the EU,” says Veronique Mathieu, French member of the European Parliament. “Workers rights

HONORED Daniel Tröhler, a Swiss APR professor at the University of Luxembourg, received the 2012 Outstanding Book Award in Curriculum History, for Languages of Education, during the American Educational Research Association’s annual meeting in Vancouver.

14 •

are at the heart of this directive.” Mathieu also points out the added benefit of streamlining migration flows. “The single permit directive will allow us to deal to a degree with the shortage of European labour. It will also facilitate the checks and balances involved in migratory flows. It is much better to have legal migration and remove any kind of incentive to illegal or clandestine measures.”

While the new permit will open the door for workers to move about more freely, there are still safeguards. Only workers who possess a contract and are able to prove a high level of skill are eligible for the permit and there are wage restrictions attached to it. Paul Schonenberg, head of the American Chamber of Commerce in Luxembourg is optimistic about the effect it will have. “Once

APR

PRAISED Visiting Luxembourg, APR Ban Ki-moon, the UN general secretary, said the Grand Duchy was a “wonderful” UN member, citing its strong foreign aid budget. Luxembourg is a candidate this autumn for a two-year rotating seat on the UN Security Council.

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16%

Knew what the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights is (EC)

vetted, people can work more easily in a variety of places.” He sees a practical use for the card as well. “Under the existing system, people are carrying around their passport and visa as a piece of identification. It’s awkward. We like the idea of identity cards. It’s an ideal situation for someone who can keep his or her passport secure and use it only for travel.” Schonenberg also hopes the blue card will be retroactively granted to third country workers who are already living in Luxembourg. He says it is too early to tell how it will affect long-term residents.

Although the card has only officially been mandatory for a few months, Luxembourg has championed the effort for years. Therefore Sylvain Wagner, chief advisor at the immigration ministry, doesn’t foresee big changes in the Grand

REITERATED The prime minister APR confirmed that--despite rumours to the contrary-he would still resign as chief of the euro zone finance ministers’ council when his term ends this summer. “Yes, that’s that,” Jean-Claude Juncker told the German paper Die Zeit.

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May 2012 - delano - 13

CURRenT aFFaIRS

eU BoRdeRS: streamlined entry for skilled workers

Duchy. “We had national provisions like this before,” he says. “The only thing that changed was the average gross annual salary to be paid for 2012 has been fixed.

That might be a level that is higher in Luxembourg than other states, which could make us more attractive to highly qualified workers.” Luxembourg delivered 107 permits to highly qualified workers in 2009, 125 in 2010, and 102 in 2011.

Not all members have been quick to comply, however. In February, the European Commission said Austria, Cyprus

easyJet

APR

EasyJet to launch flights from Findel to Gatwick in October

14 - delano - May 2012

looKInG AheAD The commission followed its rebuke by underscoring the original intent of this directive: “If Europe is to secure economic prosperity, remain competitive and maintain its welfare systems, it needs immigrant workers. The current economic and

LIFTED Meeting in LuxemAPR bourg, EU foreign ministers voted to suspend most economicsanctionsagainstMyanmarfor a year in recognition of the county’s recent democratic progress, most notably the election of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to parliament.

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and Greece needed to bring their laws in line with EU legislation: “Despite having been warned in July 2011, [these countries] have not yet transposed the rules of the blue card directive, which should have been implemented.”

financial crisis makes this need all the more pressing, while highlighting the need for common rules and a comprehensive and balanced EU migration policy.”

However individual states come down on this issue, the blue card directive is now official and the EU seems prepared to enforce it.

For a country like Luxembourg, it appears, the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks.

But the jury is still deliberating, and no one can say when they will render a verdict.

EXPERIENCED More than 900 stuAPR dents particpated in Girls Day-Boys Day, when teens learn about careers that break gender stereotypes. Young women worked alongside artisans and scientists, while young men shadowed education and health professionals.

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CHECKED Police gained authorMAY ity to give drivers onthe-spot drugs tests, similar to checking blood alcohol level with a breathalyzer. Using a cheek swab, their new device can detect residue from amphetamine, cocaine, morphine, opiate and THC use in saliva.

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Com visi e tu a Hal t our s s l 9A t , sta and n a Spr t the d 29 ing Fai r

CURRenT aFFaIRS

Royalty

RoYAl weDDInG BUT no PUBlIc holIDAY

it'S bEEn A GooD or bAD MontH For: PASCAL SCHUMACHER

The Luxembourg vibraphone player has won “instrumentalist of the year” prize for special instruments at the Echo 2012 German Jazz awards. The awards ceremony takes place on June 3 in Dresden and will be broadcast on June 7 on the MDR television channel. www.pascalschumacher.com

CITY MAG The City of Luxembourg’s official monthly publication produced by Delano publisher Maison Moderne, has won a D&D award in the “Magazine Front Covers” category. To underline the prestige of the award, other winners in the category were world renowned magazines Magazine Wired and New York Times Magazine, Businessweek Bloomberg Businessweek. www.citmag.lu

PIRATEPARTEI The Pirate Party’s president, Sven Clement, was the subject of a police raid in connection with the so-called “medicoleak”affair, but the party seemed to take a relaxed attitude to the search and warned that security at the medical databanks is still not up to scratch. Clement and party colleague Jerry Weyer were also the subject of a Speigel online report about European pirate parties. www.piratepartei.lu

SAMSA FILM The Luxembourg production company’s latest film, À perdre la raison raison, has been selected for the “Un certain regard” section at this year’s Cannes film festival. Directed by Joachim Fosse, the romantic drama stars Cannes award winners Emillie Dequenne ((Rosetta) and Tahir Rahim (Un Prophet Prophet). www.samsa.lu

16 - delano - May 2012

Cour grand-ducale/Christian Aschman

Boris Breuer

The royal household has announced the engagement of Crown Prince Guillaume to Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy.

The wedding will to take place in October.

THe HaPPY CoUPle: Crown Prince Guillaume was the last single heir to a European throne

A welcome distraction for the government from the euro crisis arrived in the shape of the official announcement of the royal engagement. On April 25 prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker called a press conference for the morning of Thursday April 26 without revealing the subject of the meeting. Speculation abounded until early on the Thursday, when news leaked of the marriage plans.

Juncker told the assembled media the barest details, but the engagement immediately made the headlines on local news websites and on the society pages of international newspapers and in celebrity magazines such as Hello (which led with the subheading “The last single heir to a European throne is set to wed”). The wedding date has since been announced as October 20. However, contrary to expectations the wedding will not be marked by a public holiday.

The crown prince, 30, had intimated that he was in a relationship when he gave media interviews around his birthday last November. Then French magazine Point de Vue revealed that Stéphanie, a Belgian aristocrat, born in February 1984, was the prince’s romantic interest.

The “pretty blonde”, as Hello describes her, is the youngest of eight children and still lives with her parents at Anvaing Castle in west Belgium. Her grandfather was a marshall at the Belgian court and her grandmother is Princess Beatrice of Ligne. She studied German philology at the university of Louvain-la-Neuve and went on to obtain a masters in Berlin.

Guillaume will be the second of Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa’s five children to get married-his younger brother Louis is married to Tessy Antony and the couple has DR two children.

SnaPSHoTS

Squash Nathan Sneyd

ToP FIelD AT JUnIoR oPen Photos: Olivier Minaire

Tournament organiser Steve Kaiser and Delano’s Luciana Restivo

Simon Baker and Tony Nightingale

Top Squash staff serve the drinks

The second ever KPMG & AMS Luxembourg Junior Open tournament was held over three days in April and attracted a field of 78 competitors from 10 countries. Part of the European Squash Federation’s Junior Circuit, the tournament opened with a cocktail for organisers, sponsors and competitors and their supporters at Top Squash in Sandweiler.

The tournament once again proved to be a success with some great squash played over the three days. The eventual winners were Kimberley Cauchi of Malta and Sanjay Jeeva of Belgium in the U13 category, Anne Blasberg of Switzerland and Romain Bouger of France in the U15 tournament, Lénard Puski of Hungary in the boys’ Under 17s competition and Linnéa GronlundBengtsson of Sweden and Luxembourgregistered French player Alex Petitjean in the Under 19s category. Marc Bouger of France was awarded the Fair Play trophy, offered by Citadel AdministraDR tion. www.ljopen.lu

Claudia Mich and Gisela Brunner

KPMG’s Dennis Robertson Hrefna Eynarsdottir and Eric Masset

May 2012 - delano - 17

CURRenT aFFaIRS

Transmission

The DAY lUXeMBoURG TooK A STAnD

When the Nazi occupiers conscripted Luxembourg youths into the German army in 1942, a general strike resulted. It marked the country forever.

Text: Neel Chrillesen — Photos: Olivier Minaire

It is often referred to as “one of the proudest moments in Luxembourg’s history,” a time when the whole country came together to defy the German occupation. The historic general strike is however painfully connected to the forced enlistment of more than 10,000 young Luxembourgers in the German Wehrmacht. Which may explain why, at the approach of the 70th anniversary of both events, remembrance is still difficult, as is the transmission to later generations.

Despite its neutrality, Luxembourg was invaded by Germany in May 1940.

“We had just celebrated 100 years of our independence,” recalls Guy de Muyser, eminent history professor and former diplomat. A few months later, the Nazi Gauleiter Gustav Simon had taken full control and was ruling the Grand Duchy with a firm hand. “All of our national institutions were eliminated and we were told to be German. If we were caught wearing Luxembourgish pins or French berets, we were slapped or taken away for further punishment.” Grand Duchess Charlotte and her government had

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STeVe KaYSeR: national solidarity is missing today

deliberately chosen to go into exile to avoid any ambiguity regarding Luxembourg’s plight to the Allies.

Despite active propaganda, incorporating Luxembourg into the German Reich turned out to be harder than expected. In a population census organised in 1941, residents were asked to

state their language and nationality-being told that Lëtzebuergesch was not a viable option. That is however what more than two thirds answered. “It was a great embarrassment for the Gauleiter,” says de Muyser. “One may regard this as a forerunner of the general strike.”

CURRenT aFFaIRS

In August 1942, a year after having imposed mandatory labour service for Luxembourgish youth, the Gauleiter announced their conscription into the Wehrmacht. “The population was in shock.

Forcing the young ones to wear the German uniform gave way for both personal and national feelings.” The workers gave the first signal of an uprising by going on strike, first in a factory in Wiltz, then in another in Schifflange. The movement spread overnight to the rest of the country, yet nothing was organised.

“There was a widespread manifestation of discontent translated by the refusal to work, but you can’t talk about a general strike unless everything is blocked at the same time, which it wasn’t,” says Steve Kayser, historian and director of the Centre de Documentation et de Recherche sur l’Enrôlement forcé, the forced conscription research centre, in Hollerich.

“There were several resistance groups.

What is important is that every layer of society reacted and stood together. All families were concerned. The young people also responded by not going to school. They had a conscience, they were aware of the consequences. The Gauleiter wasn’t prepared for that, he thought they would gladly comply.”

The movement was stopped quickly and brutally, with 21 strikers being executed, but the events didn’t go unnoticed. The story of the tiny country standing up to the Nazi enemy made headlines in several foreign newspapers. “It changed Luxembourg’s image, it proved our commitment to the Allies,” says de Muyser. Grand Duchess Charlotte--an essential figure for the country during the war--addressed the soon-to-be drafted Luxembourgers via a BBC radio message. “We heard her say that even if the Germans made us take an oath, our hearts should stay free and Luxembourgish. Nobody would hold us liable. That meant a lot.” More than ever, the Luxembourgish national motto held the population together: “Mir wëlle bleiwe wat mir sin”--we want to remain what we are.

GUY de MUYSeR: the strike changed Luxembourg’s image

UnPleASAnT eXPeRIenceS ARe oFTen ShelVeD In A DARK coRneR oF The MeMoRY.” Guy de Muyser

Thousands of young Luxembourgers were forcibly enlisted, many under the threat of their families being severely punished or worse, killed, if they showed opposition. Most of them were sent to the Eastern Front; close to a third never came back. Others however, stayed in hiding or managed to desert.

“The young people forced to take part in this racial and criminal war found themselves in a very difficult situation afterwards,” explains Kayser. “There was a strong feeling of unease between them and those who had escaped the conscription. A lot of questions and misunderstandings still remain.” lAcK oF AwAReneSS When asked, it seems that many young people in the Grand Duchy today have only a vague idea of what the general strike and the forced enrolment are, and even less what these events represent for the country they live in. This can be explained partly by the fact that there are no Luxembourgish textbooks about modern conflicts.

“Teachers are not compelled to teach the Luxembourgish side of World War II in school,” says Kayser who, like de Muyser, has however led many successful projects with students on the subject. As for the elder generation, many still find it painful to refer to this period of history because, as de Muyser says, “unpleasant experiences are often shelved in a dark corner of the memory.”

“The national solidarity that emerged with the general strike doesn’t exist anymore,” regrets Kayser. “We like to talk about it, but we do not practice it in every day life.

Even the surroundings of the National Monument of Luxembourgish Solidarity which symbolises it are in a poor state. I feel ashamed when showing it to visitors.” The forced conscription research centre will host an exhibition for the 70th anniversary of the general strike and the forced enrolment from May 8 to June 8, 2012.

But “remembrance isn’t an end in itself,” underlines Steve Kayser. “Transmission is not about handing down memories but about passing on baggage. Solidarity being an important part of it.”

May 2012 - delano - 19

Research & development

Two PoleS With twenty five candles on their cake, the Grand Duchy’s public research centres are looking ahead to the next quarter century.

Text: Aaron Grunwald — Photos: Luc Deflorenne

BUSIneSS

Jean-ClaUde SCHMIT: CRP-Santé still beating its own path

CRP TUdoR: looking for critical mass

Luxembourg’s system of public research centres, or CRPs, is set to mark its 25th anniversary of operations this July with a bang: two of the three CRPs announced plans to merge last month.

“The idea is really to have one plus one make three,” says Fernand Reinig, director at the CRP Gabriel Lippmann, which currently employs about 250 total staff. “The main goal of the CRPs is applied oriented research towards socioeconomic actor needs,” he explains. “We try to solve problems for our partners.

That can be industry--here in Luxembourg, in the Greater Region or abroad-or public bodies who need our help to fulfil their mission.”

While it has significant projects in environmental science and ICT, Lippmann is perhaps best known for its work in materials analysis--where it works with companies like ArcelorMittal, Ceratizit, Goodyear and Novalis, as well as major universities in Europe and the US--to examine the surface of materials at the atomic level. “That’s very important because today industry applies ‘ functionalisation’ to surfaces,” such as adding solar protection to glass or

protecting structures against moisture, Reinig says.

Indeed the CRP Henri Tudor similarly has a strong presence in the materials domain. One of its earliest projects was taking over the steel testing labs of what is now ArcelorMittal, says Jean Pol Michel, business development director at the centre, which has about 500 staff overall.

It is also well known for environmental studies and for its vocational master’s degree programmes--in IT security, IT service innovation, logistics and quality management--which focus on transferring the latest skills to active workers.

With many overlapping fields of expertise, “synergy is one of the motivations for this fusion. The objective is to reach critical mass.”

“But another very positive point is the clarification of the role of the CRP and the university,” he continues. Luxembourg will have “two pillars for research and innovation,” Michel says. The university will focus on basic research and academic training, while the CRP will be “more focused on very applied research and economic innovation.”

Reinig agrees that “putting our forces together is a first step towards a more midterm vision of the Luxembourg research landscape.” He says that today “we have four CRPs and one university. We should have a more coordinated, more focused research landscape with two poles.”

He adds: “I hope the other CRP and CEPS [which conducts research in the economic, political and social sciences] will join-in in several years, but of course that depends on their boards of directors to decide when they are ready to join forces.

We think that in 2019--when everyone will be here in Belval [at the “science city” being constructed that will eventually house the CRPs, as well as most of the university] we won’t have three or four different instuitions, but only one big [CRP] that would be a kind of sparring partner for big universities and for the country. That is the idea: to gain more visibility and to put together big teams.”

ThIRD cRP In fact, the day of the announcement several media outlets reported that the third CRP would “be part of the merger and move to Belval; that’s obviously wrong,”

May 2012 - delano - 21

BUSIneSS

CRP lIPPMann: already anchoring the new “science city” in Esch-Belval

states Dr. Jean-Claude Schmit, chief of the CRP-Santé, which has about 300 employees and works exclusively in the health and biomedical spheres. So, aside from health IT systems, there is little overlap between his CRP and the two others, he says.

Among CRP-Santé’s other work, “we have built up competencies in clinical investigative research, which has really been a huge success,” Schmit reports. “This research brings basic knowledge which we develop in laboratories to clinical application; you could say to the patient’s bedside.”

Schmit explains that “you need this kind of translational research if you really want to implement personalised medicine,” which was named as a national economic development goal in 2008.

In addition, “we do not have a public health research institute in Luxembourg in the classical sense, as in other European countries. So we are partially in charge of public health research,” such as surveillance, examining risk factors and collating health statistics.

These days “we already collaborate a lot with, for example, the University of Luxembourg and the IBBL,” the Grand

22 - delano - May 2012

Duchy’s biobank (see article, page 28).

“The aim is not to repeat things, not to acquire expensive equipment twice.” Beyond that, for example, “ for the IBBL, CRPSanté provides data collection services and obtaining informed consent of patients.

The biobank provides us with services storing and analysing samples. So the collaboration can be really close.”

Regarding potential fusion with other public bodies, Schmit says, “I’m absolutely open to discussing further steps, but this needs discussion.” And although not participating in the merger with Lippmann and Tudor, Schmit says CRPSanté is in the midst of its own reorganisation, “which is a good thing really, because we have a law that is 25 years old and no longer adapted to the current situation.”

PATh AheAD Following the merger of Lippmann and Tudor, the combined CRP will have more than 800 scientists among its ranks from two different organisational cultures. “This merger is a complex project, which is not frequently done in the public field,” admits Reinig. The moti-

vation is “not to reduce the budget, because the Luxembourg government continues to develop public research in a dynamic way.”

He also concedes that many of the details still need to be worked out. “It will be bottom up, not top down.” In fact, “we don’t know how the new CRP will be” structured. Several working groups are being set up among scientists but also the administrative and technical support staff to determine how the new teams will be set up.

Michel expects the bill required to start the legal process of merging the CRPs will be presented to the Chamber of Deputies this autumn and hopes it could be passed by the middle of next year. He also expects, with the economy minister’s support, that the two boards of directors will have the same composition following the next nomination cycle.

Yet the first initial steps have already been taken. Lippmann is currently recruiting for a new materials department head, Reining reveals. As this is one area the two CRPs hope will gain the most synergies, “we’re already doing it in close collaboration with Tudor.”

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SnaPSHoTS

Networking

ThRee cAnDleS FoR The IBcl Photos: Luc Deflorenne

The Indian Business Chamber of Luxembourg marked its third anniversary on April 16.

“IBCL is a bilateral chamber and acts as a gateway between India and Luxembourg,” Sudhir K. Kohli, the IBCL’s president, said during the event. “In addition to promoting Indian interests, it is also promoting the interests of Luxembourg.”

Kohli is optimistic that Luxembourg can be successfully marketed as the prime European hub for India’s fastgrowing generic drugs makers. At the same time “the Indian financial sector can learn lessons from Luxembourg” in private banking and investment funds, while India’s conservative banking culture could be attractive for the Grand Duchy’s financial institutions that are looking abroad.

Kohli told special guest Étienne Schneider, the Grand Duchy’s economy and trade minister, that “it will be beneficial for Luxembourg if it could make it easier for qualified workers from India or other such countries to come and work in Luxembourg” as opposed to relying too heavily on cross-border commuters.

He said such moves will help boost local spending as well as bolster the pensions system. AG

Pierre Gramegna and Kik Schneider From left: Sudhir Kohli, Étienne Schneider, Vijay Goyal (back), Jim Penning

Yves Bofferding

Marie-Amandine Coydon and Clemens Abt

Daniel Sahr, speaking with Patrice Robert Nko’o

Nitan Pathak Dan Schneider

24 - delano - May 2012

Consult the detailed programme on www.business-meets-research.lu

IN COLLABORATION WITH:

PARTNER REGION: SAARLAND

BUSIneSS

Publishing

leGAleSe

A new English-language book on Luxembourg’s business law has just come out.

Will it help attract more Silicon Valley firms to the Grand Duchy?

Interview: Aaron Grunwald — Photo: Luc Deflorenne

Strassen-based Legitech released its first Luxembourg Business Law Book in English last month. Nicolas Henckes, director at the legal and tax publisher, talks to Delano about the unique challenges of translating the Grand Duchy’s laws.

AG: Why did you want to publish this guide?

NH: We have many clients who are lawyers, accountants and tax specialists, and most of them work with foreigners and foreign investors. So they very often need to translate Luxembourg legislation and case law into English. They lose some time because they have some difficulties finding the right words. Especially in legal matters where you need to be very, very careful how you translate.

AG: How do you translate Continental law into English, which has a different legal culture?

NH: As usual it’s traduttore, traditore, as they say. But we tried to bridge the gap by showing the methodology that we used and by sticking to a very clear line from the beginning. That’s why we chose, actually, to use US English and specialised legal translators in New York.

Our methodology is that whenever we translate a Luxembourg concept, we also put the original version in brackets behind the translation.

AG: The original French?

NH: In the original language. The General Tax Act is a German law originally. It was introduced by the Germans during the Second World War and still applies here in Luxembourg.

26 - delano - May 2012

nIColaS HenCKeS: US English is more neutral

AG: The Chamber of Deputies never reversed it?

NH: It was very useful to raise taxes, so they didn’t change it. The income tax law is now in French, but its main provisions come from the German income tax law.

VAT is European. Registration duties have a French origin. Death duties, that’s Belgium and Dutch. We have taken the best tax laws from our neighbours!

AG: So, why did you choose legal translators in New York?

NH: You already have some translations here and there of some laws, not all of them, but they’re more based on Euro-English and British English. So we didn’t want to compete with these existing translations. We wanted to have something neutral, and also some-

thing open to the world. We have more and more Silicon Valley firms setting up here. So it looked really interesting to bring to these people concepts that they were more familiar with.

AG: How much of a market is there for these types of books?

NH: There definitely is a demand for English legal documentation, also on taxation, because not everybody in the world speaks French. And the Grand Duchy wants to position itself as an international business place.

I wouldn’t say it’s our contribution to the national effort. We are trades-people, we want to make money.

But we are following our government’s current policy and we’re trying to do our best to have success within that policy.

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BUSIneSS

Biomedicine

leGAl lIMBo

A recent court ruling has the potential to dampen the development of personalised medicine and the biotechnology sector in Luxembourg, one of the government’s economic development pillars.

Text: Aaron Grunwald — Photos: Olivier Minaire

Last autumn, a case before the Kirchberg-based European Court of Justice between Professor Olivier Brüstle of Bonn University and Greenpeace Germany resulted in the loss of the professor’s 1997 patent on a treatment for Parkinson’s disease. The ECJ said treatments such as Brüstle’s, derived from human embryonic stem cells, were not eligible for patents under European law.

In addition to Parkinson’s, researchers hope stem cells can eventually be used to treat ailments from diabetes and spinal cord injuries, to repairing damaged heart cells after a heart attack, according to Dr. Robert Phillips, CEO of Luxembourg research institute IBBL. “We are creating a no-man’s-land for intellectual property in Europe between Asia and the US,” Brüstle was quoted by the Financial Times as saying just after the ruling was announced in October. “There are no incentives for European companies to operate because they don’t get protection.”

OFFLINE Eight out of ten HR APR directors in Luxembourg believe social networks are not an effective recruitment tool (Robert Half). Only 14% use sites such as LinkedIn and Facebookto search for potential new hires and only 8% to check up on candidates.

3•

DAtELinE April 2012

28 - delano - May 2012

“We think it was a necessary clarification because there was no harmonisation in Europe about what should be considered a human embryo,” Christoph Then, Greenpeace Germany’s patent expert, told the British newspaper.

Although not previously specified in European law, the court clarified that a human embryo is created exactly at the moment an egg is fertilised by sperm, and not when it is implanted in a uterus, explains Pierre Kihn, head of the intellectual property law firm Office Freylinger in Strassen.

So, is that bad news for the industry?

“You cannot patent everything,” Kihn says.

European law allows “biological materials” to be patented, which “is why people thought embryos could be patented.”

However patents are not allowed for anything against “public order,” “morality,” or “human dignity,” which is what the ECJ pointed to in its decision. He calls the ruling “problematic” for European

researchers and companies. The ECJ ruling is now the law of the land in all 27 EU member states. However, the European Patent Office issues patents for all 27 EU nations plus 11 other signatories of the European Patent Convention. That includes countries like Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey. “It will be interesting to see how the patent office applies the decision, because it is not a body of the EU and so is not bound by the rulings of the ECJ. If the EPO follows the ruling, it would hinder people getting a patent in countries that are not bound by the decision.” On the other hand, it could issue patents that are not valid in the EU. coMPleX IMPlIcATIonS “You can get a patent on something that’s against the law, because what’s against the law changes from country to country,” Kihn adds. The point of obtaining a patent is to gain “a monopoly on your invention,

STILL RISING Consumer prices rose APR 2.65% in March versus the year before, but were only 0.34% higher than in February (STATEC). Inflation was fuelled by higher energy, housing and transport costs. But it was a good month to buy flowers: prices dropped nearly 3%.

4•

WARNED Fitch Ratings said APR Banque Internationale à Luxembourg would stay on the agency’s downgrade warning list for several months. BIL will remain on Fitch’s “Rating Watch Negative” list until its sale by Dexia is completed, expected in the third quarter.

5•

BUSIneSS

YoU cAnnoT PATenT eVeRYThInG” Pierre Kihn

PIeRRe KIHn: ECJ ruling does not answer all the questions

which allows you to commercially exploit your invention more easily. But the fact that you don’t have a patent does not mean you cannot exploit your invention.”

In Kihn’s view the ECJ decision does not necessarily dampen the prospects for biomedical research in Luxembourg and will not inevitably lead to researchers decamping en masse from the EU. “The fact that you do research in Europe or the US or somewhere depends on national laws,” says Kihn. “A European firm could simply register their intellectual property elsewhere.” Stem cell technologies can still be patented in the US, for example.

American firms will not automatically gain any advantages because they too will be restricted from obtaining patent protection in the EU.

11 •

APR

5.1%

February unemployment rate, up 0.1% from January (OECD)

But Phillips says “it’s probably impossible” to create stem cell-based therapies in Europe “unless somebody makes money from it. You need the vigorousness of a commercial setting to make it viable.”

Kihn also sees one major stumbling block in the advancement of biomedicine: the exchange of ideas between scientists. “If the research is allowed but patenting is forbidden, people will not publish the results of their research. It will all be kept secret because that will be the only way to keep people from copying you. This is what we did before the patent system.”

“The danger is that overall the level of R&D will decrease,” warns Pieter van den Broecke, head of the intellectual property practice at Linklaters in Brussels. Patent filings require detailed dis-

12 •

APR

8,257

Luxembourg domiciled funds in 2011 (Lipper)

closures about the technology be made public. “If you take away the patent system, you could see a dramatic drop in R&D because people are no longer aware of what competitors are doing. Even though you can’t use competitors’ technology [during a patent’s lifetime] at least you know what he’s doing and you can adjust your own R&D.” At the same, he stresses that any lessening of R&D activity in Europe will likely be the result of future court rulings. “It remains to be seen how lower courts will construe” the ECJ decision when evaluating future patent cases. one DooR cloSeS...

“The research will go on. In countries like the UK and France people will do the

NAMED Attorne Jacques Loesch APR was named honorary chair of the British Chamber of Commerce for Luxembourg. Loesch-a Linklaters partners, former president of the Luxembourg Bar and a founding member of the BCC--succeeds Edmond Israel, who died last year.

16 •

20

+25

• APR

biLLion

Value of euro area mutual fund shares issued in February (ECB)

May 2012 - delano - 29

BUSIneSS

RoBeRT PHIllIPS: research will continue, even if Europe does not reap all the benefits

research,” reckons Phillips. “If they discover something then it would be commercialised in the US, Canada, Japan or China. Then you have to question if people in Europe would benefit from that or not; probably not.” If a medical treatment is derived from banned stem cell research, then he believes the treatment could not be reimbursed by health systems in the EU. At the same time, “the technology has evolved quite significantly since”

SEALED The finance ministers APR of Germany and Luxembourg signed a new double taxation treaty in Berlin. The document uses current OECD tax avoidance standards and replaces the countries’ 1958 agreement, which was seen as a brake on trade and investment.

23 •

30 - delano - May 2012

the disputed patent was filed, points out van den Broecke. “We’re already 15 years ahead ” of the work in the Brüstle case and today certain stem cells “no longer involve the destruction of human embryos in their development.”

Indeed, researchers may be close to mastering less-controversial pluripotent stem cells, which can work in a similar way as embryonic stem cells but are created from blood or skin samples

EXCEEDED Euro zone bailout fund APR EFSF placed its first ever 7-year bonds. The agency had expected to raise €2 billion but ended up selling €3 billion due to surprisingly strong demand. The money is used for the financial rescue of Ireland, Portugal and Greece.

24 •

taken from an adult. Phillips says right now “some groups have said they could do it, other groups said they couldn’t.”

There also have been more advances in cloning technology. With such alternative methods on the horizon, “embryonic stem cells could be less important in the future than it used to be,” says Kihn.

“This ECJ ruling will give a push to that kind of research to find alternatives.”

APR

RETAINED Lakshmi Mittal, chair APR and largest shareholder of Luxembourg-based steel giant ArcelorMittal, kept his title as Britain’s richest man in The Times annual rankings.

Mittal--who lives in London--was worth £12.7 bill., down from £4.8 bill. last year.

29 •

25 •

36%

Average “tax wedge” for a single worker in Luxembourg (OECD)

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30 MAY 2012 Rockhal Concert

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C I T

SnaPSHoTS

International networking

TURKISh TRADe IS hoT Photos: Luc Deflorenne

On the heels of strengthening diplomatic ties between the two countries, the Turkey Luxembourg Business Club held its premiere event on March 27.

The club was founded last autumn, timed with the opening of Luxembourg’s new embassy to Ankara. Indeed, Turkey’s ambassador to Luxembourg, Celalettin Kart, was on hand at the Cercle Munster to lend his support to the new group.

Trade between Turkey and the Grand Duchy totaled 140 million euro in 2010 and is expected to top 500 million euro in the coming years, Zeynep Aslan, president of the TLBC, said in her opening remarks. “In the age we live in, accurate information is the most important thing. The winners will be those who will have accurate information and who will act quickly. Our aim is to provide that accurate information to both parties, so the level of trade will rise to the figure we expect.”

Several speakers then attested to Turkey’s entrepreneurial dynamism, high educational standards, sophistication and gender equality in financial services, and warm attitude in welcoming international investors and visitors. AG

Zeynep Aslan, president of Turkey Luxembourg Business Club

Like Turkey’s financial sector, the panel and audience were balanced between men and women

Pinar Eczacibasi and Anja Grenner

Celalettin Kart, Turkey’s ambassador to Luxembourg (right), with his wife

More than 100 people attended the event, which was held at the Cercle Munster

32 - delano - May 2012

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BUSIneSS

UCITS V

MADoFF FAlloUT

Luxembourg was blasted by Brussels in a leaked draft of new cross-border investment rules. Fund managers eagerly await the official first draft-expected this month--to see if the Grand Duchy is still singled out.

Text: Aaron Grunwald

34 - delano - May 2012

The paper posits that “the large scale of the Madoff fraud essentially went undetected for a long period because UBS [Luxalpha’s depositary bank] had delegated custody over the Luxalpha assets to an entity run by Bernard Madoff ” himself, instead of an independent party.

The document later says that in contrast to the Grand Duchy, “other member states impose an obligation to return the assets irrespective of whether a monitoring duty was breached. The Madoff case demonstrated the fundamental difference between strict liability and negligence standards: French investors in Luxembourg funds--Luxembourg applies a negligence standard, France a strict liability standard--are faced with a liability standard less protective than the one they would encounter in France.” The document then suggests that the French approach should be implemented EU-wide.

A spokeswoman for Barnier did not return Delano’s messages requesting comment.

However, the head of a major consumer protection group did voice his support for the draft. “European Financial Services Users support the UCITS V proposals made by the European Commission in order to clarify and strengthen investors’ protection in case of a fund’s failure in safekeeping its assets,” says Guillaume Prache, managing director of Eurofinuse in Brussels.

“The Luxalpha case indeed showed that European investors in the fund were insuf-

ficiently protected when the depositary successfully claimed he was not liable for the sub-depositaries’ failures under Luxembourg law. We believe the UCITS V proposal, if adopted, will clarify this issue and make the fund’s depositary and sub-depositaries clearly liable in this case.”

Such critiques have not gone down well in the Grand Duchy. In the wake of the Madoff case, CESR--the former pan-EU financial regulator which was

Council of the European Union

While investment managers are still busily implementing the fourth version of UCITS--the EU regulatory regime on which Luxembourg’s cross-border funds sector is built--Brussels is expected to publish a preliminary draft of its fifth iteration shortly after Delano goes to press. But an early internal version of the draft caused a storm when it circulated among industry players and the financial press after being leaked in late March.

Being prepared by the office of the European commissioner for internal markets, Michel Barnier of France, the draft contains harsh words about Luxembourg’s regulatory environment that essentially repeat the criticisms French government has levelled against the Grand Duchy since 2009. Specifically the document--seen by Delano--cites Bernard Madoff ’s 65 billion US dollar Ponzi scheme to point out the differences in how rules on depository banks-who are chartered with safeguarding investors’ money after it is handed over to a fund company--are applied in different member states, suggesting that standards are lower in the Grand Duchy.

“The consequences of the Madoff fraud have been particularly acute in Luxembourg,” the leaked document says. “The Luxembourg-based UCITS-compliant Luxalpha fund recorded losses of around 1.4 billion due to Madoff investments which turned out to be fictitious.”

BUSIneSS

Luc Deflorenne (archives)

lUXeMBoURG ReGUlaToR: UCITS applied properly in all EU countries

“PARTIcUlARlY AcUTe In lUXeMBoURG”

replaced by ESMA in 2011--audited how rules on depositary banks were implemented in member states. “CESR was able to conclude that [all] member states had correctly transposed the directives,” points out Danièle Berna-Ost, general secretary of Luxembourg’s financial regulator CSSF. “It is therefore important to underline that Luxembourg UCITS legislation is in full conformity with the European directives and definitely not an outlier within the EU.” In addition, “a strict liability standard, where the responsible entity has to compensate for all losses, even those caused by a third party not under its control, obviously entails very high costs, which have to be borne by somebody, that somebody ultimately being the investor,” she says.

InDUSTRY ReSPonSe “The fact that Luxembourg was singled out, triggered some reaction from Luxembourg,” a well-placed fund industry executive tells Delano. He understands that when the official draft is published, all of the language singling out the Grand Duchy will not be included.

“Things have already moved on” in Brussels. Of the early version leaking out, “I

MICHel BaRnIeR: leaked draft calls for French style rules

have the feeling [the commission staff] are a bit embarrassed by this,” the source says.

Specifically, the fund executive thinks it odd that the early draft “prejudged what the Luxembourg courts would say” since the Luxalpha case is in fact still ongoing.

Furthermore, “the laws [between member states] aren’t as different as the French want everyone to believe,” he says.

Nevertheless, the executive notes that current liability standards in the AIFM directive--which regulates professional investors--are stricter than today’s UCITS norms, which only apply to ostensibly less savvy consumers. So aligning the two set of rules “to the same level is quite normal,” he reckons. Indeed, “Luxembourg actively supports further harmonisation of a depository’s duties and liabilities, as already achieved in the AIFM directive which now serves as the template for UCITS V,” stresses Berna-Ost. A spokeswoman for Luxembourg’s fund industry group ALFI says “we’re waiting for the directive itself ” before commenting on UCITS V. Communications director Anouck Agnes did say that ALFI was “pretty much in favour of ” harmonising the UCITS depositary rules across Europe.

“It’s obviously in the interest of investors to have the entire rules apply throughout the entire EU,” she believes. “But we have to see the level of harmonisation that will be published. The level of harmonisation needs to be a reasonable one obviously.”

May 2012 - delano - 35

BUSIneSS

L AtES

3.5

s

r oW t t G Dp G

In number

3.5

E&Y

3,1%

c AStS 3.5

Eurostat

2,3%

1,3%

1.5

2.0

1,0%

1.5

0,7 %

1.0

-0.5

2012

2013

2012

Finance

JoBS SAFe, RBc DeXIA chIeF SAYS

Julien Becker (archives)

The head of the custody bank’s Luxembourg operations says no positions will be eliminated following its change in ownership.

RBC deXIa: wants to build its Luxembourg business

36 - delano - May 2012

2,2% 1,4%

1.0

2.0

1,0% 1,0%

1.5

0.5

0,4%

2012

News broke last month that Canada’s largest bank is buying out its joint venture partner’s stake in RBC Dexia Investor Services for 838 million euro, giving Royal Bank of Canada 100 percent control of the business. Questions about the firm’s future--and of its 1,500 employees in Esch-Belval--had lingered since October, when Dexia Group first said it would sell-off its share of RBC Dexia as part of a state rescue plan.

“I can confirm this transaction will not have any impact on staff levels in Luxembourg,” Sébastien Danloy, managing director of RBC Dexia in the Grand Duchy, tells Delano.

Moreover the takeover “gives us some continuity in terms of our shareholding structure.” He points out RBC is one of the world’s largest banks and rated as one of the strongest.

While he will not yet provide specific details of the company’s future plans, Danloy does say that RBC Dexia wants “to leverage [its] dominance in the Luxembourg marketplace and therefore we are implementing a strategy to really con-

0,0% 0,0%

0.0

-0,2%

-0.5

2013

2.5

1.0

1.5

-0.5

0.0

-0,3%

S& P

3.0

3.0

0.5

0.0

0,5 %

-0.5

0,7%

1.0 0.5

0.0

OECD

2.0

2.0

2.5

3.5

2.5

3.0 2.5

3.0

0.5

H Fo r E

2013

2012 Euro zone

2013 Luxembo

urg

tinue to grow our business in Luxembourg.” He says the firm will focus on services for Luxembourg and Irish investment funds.

Some analysts have expressed concern that with the cutting of ties with Dexia, RBC Dexia will lose ground in European markets, where Dexia traditionally had been strong and RBC less active. Danloy concedes that “although Dexia had a European heritage, over the past few years RBC has done extremely well in growing its presence of its wealth management and capital markets divisions [in Europe], and these two divisions are very complementary to our own services at RBC Dexia.”

Asked if his firm will continue working with Dexia Asset Management-one of its major customers that now will fall outside the same corporate umbrella--Danloy only states that “today Dexia Asset Management is our client.”

Danloy adds that the buy-out is still subject to regulatory approvals, but hopes the deal will close “at end of June of this year.” AG

Patricia Plaza Villasante Vice President, Network Management European Markets, Clearstream International Alumna LSF

Jeffrey Tessler

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Chief Executive Officer of Clearstream International

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THInK loCal: BERGLIND ÓMARS

Icelandic

BeRGlInd ÓMaRS: local schools are the entryway

“ IT DoeSn’T helP YoU To STAY AT hoMe” Three and a half year resident in Luxembourg Berglind Ómars gives her insight into living and working in the Grand Duchy.

Interview: Aaron Grunwald — Photo: Olivier Minaire

Berglind Ómars was born and raised in Vestmannaeyjar, a small island off mainland Iceland famous for its 1973 volcanic explosion. She moved from Reykjavik to the Grand Duchy with her husband and two children in the autumn of 2008.

Today she is an independent fashion designer and dressmaker in Itzig.

AG: What brought you to Luxembourg?

BÓ: We came here because we wanted to try something new. My husband was offered a job here. So I left my business in Iceland--I had my own tailoring company--and we decided to just give it a try.

AG: Did everything go smoothly?

BÓ: We had only been here for two or three weeks when my husband lost his job. He had worked for a bank in Iceland for five years, and they had been trying to get him to work here. [But then] he lost his job because the bank collapsed.

We were renting a house in the name of the bank, so we had to move.

He found another job very quickly. He’s in IT, so it’s easier I guess.

AG: What about your work?

BÓ: I have my atelier at home because I have two sons. One and half years ago, I was trying to get out of the house and find some place to rent. Well, actually it was too expensive, so that’s why I decided

38 - delano - May 2012

to wait for one or two more years before I get my dream atelier. Right now I have the garage, but it’s nice. Most people are impressed when they come there. It’s a good working space.

AG: What do you make?

BÓ: Mostly I costume people for special occasions: people who are going to a wedding, some wedding dresses and I made a suit for a man for his wedding last year.

[I design for] mostly women, but I have my degree dressmaking and tailoring.

AG: How do you find customers?

BÓ: A happy client works, so I’ve been very lucky with that. My first clients here were teachers from the school my boys are going to. And they were happy and told some friends.

AG: How did your fashion show at Check Inn at Findel go last September?

BÓ: The house was completely packed.

It went very well. Afterwards I got some clients, so it was very successful for me.

AG: What do you think about fashion in Luxembourg?

BÓ: It’s kind of boring, I would say. The difference between Iceland and here is that we have a lot of stores where the designers are working in the stores. On the main street in Reykjavik, every other store is this little design store and you can meet the designer there.

AG: Would you like to open that kind of boutique here?

BÓ: Yes, I would like to [but] it’s too expensive to rent here, so we will see.

AG: Do you speak Luxembourgish?

BÓ: No. I tried. I took some courses, but it was difficult because the teacher was speaking French the whole time and I don’t speak French. So it was very difficult. Now I’ve been trying to learn French. But it’s tough.

AG: How long are you planning to stay?

BÓ: We are happy here, so we’re not planning on moving for, I don’t know, the next couple of years.

AG: What advice would you give newcomers?

BÓ: It doesn’t help you to stay at home and wait for someone to come. You have to go out there and try to integrate with other people. My boys are in the local school, so it’s good because we are getting friends through them. Because if they have some good friends, then of course we get to know the parents.

AG: What Icelandic foods do you miss?

BÓ: Dried fish, sometimes I miss that.

Skyr, it’s like yogurt but it’s a little bit thicker. They have been selling it to America and I think they’re starting to sell it in Germany, but not here.

But that’s ok. We have better quality fruits and vegetables here.

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BUSIneSS

The events planner

on The hoRIZon

Delano presents a guide to the next two months of business, social and informational events for Luxembourg’s international community. Events are listed by organiser. Advance registration or fees may be required, so consult the website indicated for full details. All events are held in English unless otherwise noted.

ALFi

www.alfi.lu

brEAStFEEDinG Group www.lalecheleague.lu

20 •

23 •

JUN

MAY

3

ALTERNATIVES

Part of the “leading edge” series, this conference examines the potential impact of the EU’s AIFMD regulatory regime on hedge funds.

• JULY

RBC Dexia building, Esch-Alzette, all day event

JULY

MONTHLY MEETING

La Leche League Luxembourg is a multilingual support and information exchange group for expectant and new mothers, and mums who can share their experience.

Hesperange, 10:00-12:00

www.bscoc.org

1•

JUN

6•

JULY

COOL WHEELS

L u x e m b o u r g ’s only British car club meets the first Friday of the month to cover everything “from Mini to Aston Martin,” both classic and modern. Nonmembers welcome.

24 •

TECH NETWORKING

The American Chamber’s IT committee welcomes communications MAY minister, François Biltgen, for an evening of tech talk. Space is limited.

Conterstuff, Contern, 20:00

britiSH cHAMbEr www.bcc.lu

RTL studios, Luxembourg-Kirchberg, 18:30

28

SUMMER DANCE

Daniel Tesch, director of the Automobile Club of Luxembourg, talks about the public debate and lobbying effort behind the planned new taxi service “YellowCab by ACL.”

JULY

Venue to be announced, 12:00-14:00

intErnAtionS

24 •

INT’L GET-TOGETHER

The expat community group takes over this cozy restaurant’s bar for an exclusive evening event.

Space is limited, so register online in advance.

Apoteka, Luxembourg-city centre, 18:30-23:59

LuXinnoVAtion www.luxinnovation.lu

22

• MAY

23

• MAY

INNOVATION MEETUP

“Business meets research” is an informational, networking and matchmaking event for entrepreneurs and scientists seeking collaboration partners.

Chamber of Commerce, Luxembourg-Kirchberg, all day event

www.the-network.lu

19 •

DP CHIEF

Claude Meisch, president of the Democratic Party and head of its JUN parliamentary group, talks about the sovereign debt crisis.

Venue to be announced, 12:00-14:00

club.paperjam.lu

www.internations.org/luxembourg-expats

tHE nEtWorK

Friendship, fun and networking, with terrific food and music entertainment provided by “Come Back 60s”. Special overnight room rates available.

• JUNE

Kikuoka Golf Club, Canach, 18:30

TAXI TALK

MAY

britiSH cArS

AMcHAM www.amcham.lu

11 •

12 •

13

SOCIAL EVENT

15 •

END BAD MEETINGS

With virtual meetings on the rise, Lisbeth Kjellberg talks about enhancing meeting culture to improve efficiency, avoid misunderstandings and promote creativity.

MAY

Abbaye de Neumünster, Luxembourg-Grund, 8:30-13:00

15 •

SERVICE GAINS

Patrick Browne discusses “applying industrial best practices to non-industrial businesses with guaranteed success” with a particular focus on service companies.

MAY

Abbaye de Neumünster, Luxembourg-Grund, 8:30-13:00

19 •

SOCIAL CRM

Sylvain Cottong presents the new software and organisational techniques available to help improve customer relationship management via social media.

JUNE

Abbaye de Neumünster, Luxembourg-Grund, 8:30-13:00

One of the professional women networking group’s two annual offsite visits will be a tour of the European Investment Bank, followed by dinner.

• JUNE

roMLuX www.romlux.org

EIB, Luxembourg-Kirchberg, 18:30

23 •

ECONOMIC SEMINAR

The Romania Luxembourg Business Forum hosts “Romania: doing business in EU emerging markets” featuring Romania’s ambassador and partners from E&Y and PwC.

MAY

The next edition of Delano will feature events taking place from June 19 through the summer. We invite you to submit an event by sending an email no later than May 28 to: news@delano.lu

40 - delano - May 2012

Cercle Munster, Luxembourg-Grund, 18:00

CoVeR SToRY

Anouk Bastian

“ wIne-MAKeRS nowADAYS ARe BecoMInG PeRSonAlITIeS” Anouk Bastian is one of a new generation of winemakers along the Moselle who are giving Luxembourg wines modern flair while retaining their distinctive characteristics.

Text: Duncan Roberts — Photos: David Laurent

anoUK and MaTHIS BaSTIan: wine-making is an education in itself

Ever since the introduction in 1985 of an “appellation controlée” label, Luxembourg’s Moselle wines have steadily been improving. But as well as limiting production to improve quality, a new generation of wine-makers has been taking over or helping to run established family businesses and bringing with them new skills learned at oenology institutions abroad. Wine-makers like Yves Sunnen, Marc Desom and Luc Duhr are earning rave reviews for making their own distinctive wines and the reputation of Luxembourg’s Moselle has grown accordingly.

Add to that list Anouk Bastian, who has joined her father at the Domaine Mathis Bastian Remich winery that bears his name. Even though she was born into a traditional Moselle winemaking family, it was not a predestined career move to join her father in the

business. Indeed, Anouk was told that she should choose to study something different; something that would appeal to her. At the time, that was law. She studied at Strasbourg and worked for two years as a lawyer, but the winemaking business seemed to be calling her and she went to study oenology in Reims for a year. When she returned, it was to join the business full-time.

“But wine-making is an education in itself,” she says. “You always continue to learn, gather experience, and listen to what is happening not only in Luxembourg but also in other wine-making regions. That is one of our big advantages, that we can quickly cross into other countries and visit colleagues to exchange ideas.

We have to be open and flexible to make progress.”

But Anouk says that the demands of customers have also changed over the

May 2012 - delano - 43

CoVeR SToRY

years. “They are seeking an ‘experience’ when they drink wine,” she explains.

“And that doesn’t mean music and dance and entertainment--not that there is anything particularly wrong with that. It is more about the experience of nature, being interested in how the vintner makes the wine.” Wine enthusiasts want to sit at home and recall what it was like to first taste the wine they are drinking in the vineyard where the grapes were grown, experiencing something different from their daily surroundings.

An eXPeRIence

doMaIne eT TRadITIon: the group of independent vintners promote the very best wine-making the Moselle has to offer

Indeed, offering customers an experience can make a big difference in an increasingly competitive market in which, according to Anouk, the high quality standard of wine is pretty much the same. “We have all had advice from consultants from Burgundy or Champagne or wherever. What distinguishes one from another is the style of wine they make, the different soil types and how much the vintner chooses to respect or exploit the

different varietals.” Mathis Bastian makes what Anouk calls “straightforward wines.

Elegant and pure, with lots of finesse. It is a style that suits gastronomy--over 50% of our wine is sold to restaurants.” Bastian is also fairly unique among independent wine-makers in that its estate is open to the public during normal business hours on weekdays. Although larger groups should call ahead to check availability, Anouk insists that “anyone can come along and taste a few wines, even though we are not really a wine bar.”

Modern customers are also wellinformed and more demanding, and they care about the ethics of wine making and the ecology. “Respect for nature plays an important role in our business.” In addition, Bastian has five full-time employees rather than seasonal workers. Anouk says that winemakers today are genuine entrepreneurs who have to ensure that their business is professionally run, dealing not only with production but also administra-

Selection

eIGhT BoTTleS To SAVoUR We asked the owner of Vinoteca, Guy Tabourin, to choose his favourite Luxembourg wines.

Here he selects eight vintages that typify the best of the Moselle. www.vinoteca.lu

44 - delano - May 2012

Caves Sunnen-Hoffmann

cHArDonnAY ScHWEbSAnGE KoLtEScHbiErG GrAnD cru cLASSÉ 2010 The first winery in Luxembourg to switch to exclusively organic produce has a long tradition of high quality winemaking. This unoaked Chardonnay is very fresh and lively, has a nice fruitiness and a perfect balance. Nothing to do with blockbuster new world chardonnays.

Caves Sunnen-Hoffmann

pinot GriS ScHWEbSAnGE KoLtEScHbiErG GrAnD cru cLASSÉ 2011 Pinot Gris is one of most difficult grapes to grow on the Luxembourg Moselle as it tends to be over extracted, carrying too much residential sugar and lacking freshness.

Only a few wineries produce fresh, elegant and mineral Pinot Gris, and this one is undoubtedly one of them.

Domaine Alice Hartmann

pinot noir 2009 Maybe the most accomplished Pinot Noir from the Moselle; it is more German rather than Burgundy in style. Hints of very well integrated vanilla flavours derive from a perfectly managed oak vinification, with hints of cherry and a long finish.

CoVeR SToRY

tion--such as ensuring that salaries are paid on time--and marketing. “We really have to multi-task,” she says. Nevertheless, part of the image improvement the new generation has brought to the table is that they want the job to be dynamic and to continue to be fun.

“We don’t want to work ourselves half to death from morning till evening. We want to experience our wines, too. More and more, wine-makers nowadays are becoming personalities.” Indeed, wines new to the Moselle, such as gris de gris and pinot noir, are entering the market as the Moselle vintners seek new clientele. “Our target now is the 30 to 50 age group, to build up a new generation of customers--although, of course we would never say anyone else is too old,” she smiles.

GooD VInTAGe Favourable weather conditions last year means that the 2011 vintage has produced some very ripe wines, says Anouk.

“Customers can eagerly anticipate fruity

and expressive, but harmonious wines.”

Then again, it has been a long time since Luxembourg vintners experienced a really bad year. Wine-making requires the vintner to have a permanent exchange with nature, she says.

“We have to adapt to nature and climatic conditions. It is all about making the right decision at the right time. That is what makes the job so interesting.” Anouk has noticed a pattern emerging over the last ten years or so--the even-numbered years seem to produce what she calls “classic, fresh and spritzy wines”, while the odd numbered years have led to “more rounded, mature wines that have been harvested later”.

Although there is competition, groups such as the Domaine et Tradition marketing association of eight independent wine-makers (who form a panel to select their best wines for the label) are a clear indication that there is pride in the region and what Anouk calls “a togetherness” among the younger generation. “That helps improve our image and

Caves Krier

Domaine Alice Hartmann

LES tErrASSES WorMELDAnGE KoEppcHEn riESLinG GrAnD prEMiEr cru 2010 Wormeldange Koeppchen has for ever been considered the best Riesling vineyard on the Moselle, and Les Terrasses is the best parcel on the slope. It produces an incredibly mineral, very elegant Riesling with exotic fruit notes and a very well integrated acidity. A truly great wine!

Crémant de Lux Caves Legill, Schengen

pinot GriS MArKuSbErG GrAnD prEMiEr cru 2011 As mentioned, Pinot Gris is a difficult grape and this wine from a small winery in Schengen is very well balanced with a long finish.

It has notable presence on the palatte, with a beautiful intense fruit concentration. An interesting wine to serve as an apéritif.

crÉMAnt DE LuXEMbourG This is a Vinoteca owned brand made with the Crémant Cunibert from Krier Frères. It placed second best sparkling wine by Bourgogne d’aujourd’hui magazine in a crémant versus champagne tasting.

Perfectly balanced this fruity and not aggressive crémant is a great example of the winemaking skill.

Domaine Mathis Bastian riESLinG rEMicH priMErbErG GrAnD prEMiEr cru 2009

I selected this Riesling for its fantastic palette of typical Riesling aromas such as pineapple and other exotic fruits. With a little bit more sweetness than the other Rieslings, this wine will convert typical Pinot Gris lovers to the more characterful Riesling.

riESLinG DoMAinE priVÉ rEMicH priMErbiErG GrAnD prEMiEr cru 2008 This complex, limited quality Riesling is one of the flagships of the Krier winery. A very soft, intensely fruity wine with plenty of tropical fruit aromas and some residential sugar.

The wine is now four years old and will continue to improve for at least another six to eight years.

May 2012 - delano - 45

CoVeR SToRY

doMaIne MaTHIS BaSTIan: the estate sits in the middle of its own vineyards above Remich

Tasting

SprinG FAir & opEn HouSE Many Luxembourg wineries have stands at the annual Spring Fair, a traditional occasion to allow customers a first taste of last year’s vintage. This year the Spring Fair is on at Luxexpo until Sunday May 13.

www.luxexpo.lu

Meanwhile, Domaine Mathis Bastian is holding open house weekends from June 15 to 17 and from June 29 to July 1 at its estate in Remich. For more info call tel: 23 69 82 95 or email: domaine.mathisbastian@pt.lu www.mathisbastian.lu

46 - delano - May 2012

renown, and it gives consumers trust in our produce.” Indeed, promoting the Moselle is in line with consumer trends towards regional authenticity. It is the uniqueness of the terroir that can be exploited in marketing terms, Anouk explains. “Wine is a product that binds people; that they can enjoy together. It is also something that they savour, an indulgence that helps people relax--there is nothing like having a glass of wine and reading a good book in front of a fire.”

The younger generation is also confident and not afraid to show the world what they have learned. “And they also feel it is an honour and a responsibility to carry on the family business that their fathers and grandparents built up.” That positive attitude shines through in

Anouk, who takes great delight in her job and is pleased she is working in a metier that produces something of value.

Indeed, while some local wine-makers take pride in entering, and winning, international competitions, Anouk is not a keen participant. Bastian did win gold medals for its first crémant in 2006, but apart from the local Guide Hachette the estate does not enter competitions. “I don’t know how much value they bring to a business like ours, and entering competitions costs a few hundred euro each time.” Instead, Anouk says that the biggest acclaim the estate can get is recognition and appreciation from its clientele. “If people say ‘that is a Bastian, I recognise the style’, then we are really happy.”

You will never do business the same way again !

13./14.06.

2012

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Automotive; Aerospace; ICT, e-commerce & webmarketing; Transports & logistics; Services to companies.

events@gr-businessdays.com

More than 70 exhibition stands have already been booked 60 speed demos expected 6 ďŹ lmed interactive conferences 4 thematic round tables 2500 business meetings

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Chambre of Commerce of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg International Departement L-2981 LUXEMBOURG Phone: + 352 42 39 39 – 333 / 370 Fax: +352 43 83 26 E-mail: events@gr-businessdays.com Contact persons: Ms Sabrina Sagramola / Mr Niels Dickens / Ms Amrita Singh Partners of the show: Organiser:

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neTWoRKInG

Luxembourg-Chile Chamber of Commerce

BUSIneSS MeeTS PleASURe

Olivier Minaire

Representing one of hottest economies in South America economies, the group is not only about the bottom line.

MIGUel dÍaZ-FeRnÁndeZ: connecting Chileans with Chileans and everyone in Luxembourg

prActicAL inFo

Luxembourg-Chile Chamber of Commerce 7, rue Alcide de Gasperi L-2981 Luxembourg Tel. 691 986 902 info@luxchile.lu www.luxchile.lu

48 - delano - May 2012

coMMittEE

Miguel Díaz-Fernández (president) Istvan Von HabsburgLothringen Chantal Hagen-De Mulder François Colling

MEMbErS

25

FounDED

1996

MEEtinGS

Business: sector-specific roundtables that attract industry players with the same interests in mind

Culture: art, music and networking events that bring together Chileans and friends of Chile

networking

Many of the 201 Chileans living in Luxembourg arrived in one of two tranches.

During the 1970s and 80s the first group sought political asylum from the regime of dictator Augusto Pinochet. Then, starting in 1990s, a second wave started to arrive, drawn by economic opportunities, primarily in the financial sector. So it is fitting that the Luxembourg-Chile Chamber of Commerce itself has a dual purpose. “The chamber is a mix between business and cultural activities,” explains its president, Miguel Díaz-Fernández.

It organises a small number of exhibitions, performances and networking meetings throughout the year. Yet membership remains slightly skewed towards the older group. “We are trying to reconnect with the new generation of Chileans.”

One of his goals is to increase contact between the generations, particularly the children of the 70s migrants. If Chileans “want to meet other Chilean people in Luxembourg, [they should] contact us and we are going to put them together.”

As there is a relatively small number of Chileans in the country, it is easy for the two missions to overlap. For example, the chamber’s networking efforts also have a more practical function. Luxembourg “companies that need to have professionals that know [Chile] can find those professionals because they can call the Chamber of Commerce. And vice versa: the Chilean people can connect with companies that are investing and are in business relations with Chile.”

Indeed, one reason the chamber originally got off the ground was because several leading Luxembourg firms--ArcelorMittal, Cargolux and Paul Wurth, among others--wanted to increase commercial ties with rapidly growing South American economy (Chile became a member of the rich world club OECD in 2010), and were able join with Ana Schwager-Perez, a leader of the Chilean political exile community, and François

Colling, Chile’s honorary consul in Luxembourg. Díaz-Fernández represented his employer, Banque internationale à Luxembourg, on the chamber’s board for several years before being elected president last year. In fact, he’s Spanish, and says of having a nonChilean serve as chief: “that’s one of the good things about Luxembourg... everything is possible here.” The chamber’s business seminars focus on specific sectors “to put together all the companies that have a common interest.” Last year, for example, the chamber organised a summit featuring Chilean travel firms Australis Cruises, Euroandino and LAN Chile, who came to the Grand Duchy. Before that roundtable, “it wasn’t easy to find ” information about Chile in Luxembourg travel agencies.

Today “Emile Weber is commercialising a whole package to visit Chile. It was really nice, because you could see that at that moment in time, there was a kind of synergy,” Díaz-Fernández says. “It’s nice to see that if you create a good environment, you can do a lot of business.”

Later this year, the chamber will host summits focused on IT, the financial sector (see box), biotechnology, innovation and start-ups, and of course Chile’s famous wine. In addition to the support from the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, Díaz-Fernández credits much of the Chilean chamber’s success to the active involvement by Carlos Appelgren, Chile’s ambassador to the Benelux, and Susana Véliz, Chile’s trade representative to the Benelux. Both have been “really, really helpful” organising cultural and business events in the Grand Duchy. “The Chilean institutions are based in Brussels, so we are the only representatives” of the country in Luxembourg, and naturally the chamber works closely with government officials. “Sometimes companies go through us and they receive an answer within 48 hours.” AG

Financial ties

Double tax treaty Chile is home to several large “funded” pension plans (as opposed to “pay-as-you-go” systems) but the Grand Duchy’s financial centre has so far been relatively limited in the types of services it offers those funds.

In December 2009 Luc Frieden, Luxembourg’s finance minister, visited Santiago. Shortly thereafter the two governments began technical conversations with the aim of potentially signing a double taxation treaty. The lack of such an agreement is “one of the things nowadays that is stopping transactions a little bit,” says Miguel Díaz-Fernández.

“Chilean investors are starting to put money into European companies,” and have also shown interest in participating in Luxembourg private equity funds and setting up corporate vehicles in the Grand Duchy, he explains. A fiscal accord would remove a lot of barriers.

“And the other way around: developing business directly with Chile will be easier if we have a favourable double tax treaty.”

May 2012 - delano - 49

lIFeSTYle GOING NATIVE

Three events to

ING EUROPE-MARATHON LUXEMBOURG

Each year an estimated 150,000 people flood into the capital city to line the route and take part in the ING europe-marathon Luxembourg. This year’s seventh running of the race, held in the evening to allow athletes to compete in the relative cool, will once again be about more than just the runners and winners. The event is lent raucous colour by some 40 samba groups that play during the race but also on the eve of the marathon, spurring on the runners and encouraging the spectators to cheer on the professional and amateur athletes. Runners can choose to complete the full marathon course or a half-marathon, or even compete in a relay event for teams of four runners-but places are limited and the full contingent of 10,000 has been reached.

PETANQUE

Monday nights at the Kyosk in Central Park Kirchberg are something special. The bar and restaurant adjacent to d’Coque hosts a petanque tournament over the summer months, a competitive round-robin league event for 20 teams of two followed by a knockout phase in September for the eight top place teams. The winners are awarded the highly prestigious Trophée Ernest & Jules (named after the founders of the modern game).

The venue boasts up to eight petanque fields and is also a great place to relax with friends over an aperitif and snacks in the evenings or for a brunch on Sunday. It also does a great lunch menu featuring delicious fresh food-home-made pizzas and quiches, salads and barbecue à la plancha--that can be eaten at tables or taken out on to the lawn in special picnic receptacles to be eaten at leisure.

All summer, Kyosk, Luxembourg-Kirchberg, www.kyosk.lu

May 19, Luxembourg-City (start and finish at Luxexpo), www.ing-europe-marathon.lu

OPT IN Sàrl

David Laurent/Wide

Luc Deflorenne (archives)

STAY AcTIVe

RENCONTRE DES NATIONS

Teams are being encouraged to sign up for the City of Luxembourg’s second Rencontre des Nations football tournament. The tournament is aimed at encouraging more integration among different nationalities in the capital, under its Multiplicity slogan. The all-day event takes place at the Boy Konen complex in Cessange on June 17 and includes a beach soccer competition for youngsters in as well as the seven-a-side tournament for adult teams. Teams of eight players for the adult tournament can register as long as they are composed of players from at least two different nationalities and no single nationality is represented by more than four players. But groups of four players from one nationality can also register and will be placed in a team with another group of four players following a draw. Individual players can also register and will be placed in teams that require a spare player.

June 17, Boy Konen stadium, Luxembourg-Cessange, www.rdn.lu

Luxembourg is...

“a paradise, still it must stay fit for the future.” dR HUBeRTUS Von MoRR, German ambassador to the Grand Duchy

cLub LiFE

A regular list of local associations.

Submit a text for inclusion by sending a mail to: duncan.roberts@maisonmoderne.lu

50 - delano - May 2012

SociAL

The AnZ clUB

A social club for Australians, New Zealanders, their families and friends, as well as for those who lived the down-under lifestyle. www.anzclub.lu

Sport

oPTIMISTS cRIcKeT clUB

Plays competitive and friendly matches and hosts training programmes as well as indoor winter league. www.optimists.cc

GOING NATIVE lIFeSTYle

People in the news

The cRUcIAl ThRee JEFF DESOM

The KnowleDGe HOW TO...

HELP VOICES INTERNATIONAL US TOUR

Voices International

Julien Becker

The young Luxembourg film-maker’s recutting of Alfred Hitchcock’s masterful Rear Window has become a viral hit thanks to mentions on websites such as Huffington Post, which called it “insanely intense”, Wired and Ain’t It Cool, which called the work “amazing”. Desom was one of the “under 30s to watch” in Maison Moderne’s Moien book and won a Lëtzebuerger Filmpräis for his first short film The Plot Spoiler. He has since gone on to make acclaimed short films and music videos--most specifically for German pianist Hauschka, with whom he also produced a live Ghost Piano performance. Jeff explains that he dissected all of Hitchcock’s Rear Window and stitched it back together in After Effects. “Since everything was filmed from pretty much the same angle I was able to match them into a single panoramic view of the entire backyard without any greater distortions. The order of events stays true to the movie’s plot.”

www.jeffdesom.com

LINDA BOS

The Dutch-born graphic designer, resident in Luxembourg for seven years, has been commissioned to design Visit Luxembourg two stamps for Luxembourg P&T’s Europa Series 2012. The two landscape collages are based on a design Bos made for her now iconic Luxembourg City poster. Bos owns her own design company, Pretty Forest, which recently designed a special Peckvillchen and a Spring window for Ben&Pepper boutique.

Julien Becker

www.prettyforest.com

GUILL KAEMPFF

The 54-year-old co-owner of Kaempff-Kohler, which he runs together with brother Christian, has been elected the new president of the Union Commerciale de la Ville de Luxembourg, the capital city’s retailers’ association. Kaempff replaces Corinne Cahen, owner of city shoe store Chaussures Léon, who has been made honorary president of the UCVL. Kaempff has said that liberalisation of shop opening hours remains at the top of the UCVL agenda under his watch.

1 Voices International was chosen as one of only seven groups from around the world to participate in the Friendship Ambassadors Foundation’s “The Rhythms of One World” 2 43 singers and musicians committed to the three-date tour 3 The choir will play in the General Assembly of the United Nations commemorating the anniversary of the signing of the UN Charter, at the Lincoln Center’s 2,700-seat Avery Fisher Hall and one other prestigious venue 4 The tour will be covered by RTL television 5 The choir is in the process of identifying sponsors to fund this relatively large undertaking, with several sponsorship packages available 6 Interested parties can contact Steve Anderson: chairman@voicesinternational.lu Tel: 621 24 04 21 www.voicesinternational.lu

www.cityshopping.lu

Sport

lUXeMBoURG InT’l RowInG clUB

Offers competitive and leisure rowing on the Moselle from May to October. www.luxrow.org

ActiVitY

poLiticAL

BRITISh GUIDeS In lUXeMBoURG

RePUBlIcAnS ABRoAD

www.bglux.eu

www.republicansabroad.lu

Local division of Girlguiding UK, with active sections for all ages of girls.

Group that represents the interests of overseas Americans, and communicates their concerns to leaders in Washington.

May 2012 - delano - 51

lIFeSTYle HiStorY

Neel Chrillesen

MIne eXPloRInG AnD olD TRAInS

Seven ways to get

www.train1900.lu, www.fond-de-gras.lu

hAPPY KIDS

Steinfort Adventure

The beginning of May marks the opening of the historical “Train 1900.”

Every Sunday and during the holidays, the steam train takes off from the CFL station in Pétange to Fond-deGras through beautiful slopes. Upon arrival, you can walk through the nature reserve, visit archaeological sites and exhibitions, before taking another train to Lasauvage. Here, there are museums to visit but also a third train, once used to haul iron, that takes you through the mines on a magical visit.

run WiLD

ADVenTURe on RoPe, BIKe oR FooT

The Steinfort Adventure is located in a beautiful forest and seems to appeal to everyone, young and less young alike. There are trees to climb with high rope courses for every level, cycling paths (and bike rental), a discovery path with several “educational stations” to do on foot, plus a picnic area.

1, rue Collart, Steinfort, www.steinfort-adventure.lu

DELiciouS LEArninG

Vitarium

MIlK MADe MAGIc

52 - delano - May 2012

Luxlait dairy is something of a national treasure and once you’ve visited the Vitarium you’ll know why. After putting on a lab coat, you embark on a guided tour through Luxlait’s production centre, complete with 3D animation and animated galleries. Afterwards, you access a large area with 45 interactive workstations where you’ll play (and learn!) for hours, and also get a sampling of Luxlait products. Reserve beforehand to ensure there’s a tour in your language available when you arrive.

Vitarium, Roost, www.vitarium.lu

lIFeSTYle

GEt tEcHiE

Luc Deflorenne

woRKShoPS FoR hAcKIDS Sion Bourne/Creative Commons

The Hackerspace in Strassen hosts workshops for kids, usually the first Tuesday of every month. The topics are varied, recent ones included building robots that wrestle one another (photo), giant soap bubbles and rocket science. Workshops are announced on hackids.hackerspace.lu at least two weeks ahead. “To register, you have to be at least 10 years old (no limit upwards). Parents are, of course, welcome too,” says leader Marc Teusch. “We’ll also be doing some summer specials from July 15 on.”

StAr WArS

lASeR TAG FUn Children and teens running around in foggy, dark rooms shooting at each other with laser guns may not be educationally correct, yet laser tag is wildly popular. On the bright side, it’s a team game that develops concentration and strategic thinking--and adults can play too! Reserve beforehand.

Hackerspace, 11, rue du Cimetière, Strassen, www.hackerspace.lu

Laser Game Evolution, 5, rue des Bruyères, Howald, www.lasergame-evolution.com/lu/ luxembourg

FitnESS bASicS

A SPecIAl SPoRTS School

Tel. 621 45 48 92, rickard@my-golfacademy.com

Groundspeak Luc Deflorenne

As a parent, you want to encourage your child to do sports. However, if your offspring isn’t enjoying it or keeps wanting to change activities (forcing you to invest in new equipment each time) what do you do? The newly started “Sports School” in Kockelscheuer--a collaboration between ESTESS Sports Club and Bergwall & Pedersen Golf Club--is the place to go. “The idea is to give children a comprehensive base training that enables them to find ‘their’ sport and be good at it,” says Rickard Bergwall. “We are faced with many children today who have poorer motor skills, coordination, strength and balance than we have seen before. We want to give them a solid platform of fundamental movement skills on which they can build. The training is fun, but also challenging.” The Sports School focuses mainly on working with children born between 2002 and 2006.

The coaches speak English, German, French, Luxembourgish and Swedish.

HiDE AnD SEEK 2.0

TReASURe hUnT wITh GPS

All the cool kids (and their parents and grandparents) are doing it. Geocaching is an outdoor treasure hunting game where you use a GPS device to find hidden “geocaches.”

It’s played worldwide, and in Luxembourg as elsewhere, geocaching takes you to interesting locations.

To get started, visit the website www.geocaching.com and click on “play” and then “hide and seek.”

May 2012 - delano - 53

Saumur

David Laurent/Wide (archives)

lIFeSTYle

FAMiLY GuiDE

cAll FoR enTRIeS

SAuMur crYStAL cLub

leGenDARY lATe nIGhT DIneR ReDeSIGneD

Maison Moderne is seeking contributions to the 4th edition of Family Guide from the owners of crèches and childcare facilities, toy shops, clothing outlets and bookstores, the organisers of children’s workshops, language courses, sports and cultural events, and also from child-friendly restaurants or even simply parents who want to share advice or promote a favourite address or activity. Send information about your venue or activity, including address and website and your own contact details to: familyguide@maisonmoderne.lu.

A favourite late night/early hours dining venue, Saumur on rue Dicks has been redesigned by architect Stefano Moreno and now includes an adjacent striptease bar. But the night bar-restaurant still serves food throughout the night and into the early hours, including salads, steaks and pasta at reasonable prices.

www.maisonmoderne.lu

www.saumur.lu

News about

FooD, DRInK, GoInG oUT LA tAbLE Du bELVÉDÈrE

La Table du Belvédère

BAcK To BASIcS

With a mezzanine overlooking the place de l’Europe, the Philharmonie and Mudam, the La Table du Belvédère in the new conference centre has a great location. The food in the new gastronomic restaurant is also eye-catching; with a back to basics menu of regional dishes that includes an authentic bouchée à la reine, coq au vin and even more rustic fare such as tête de veau.

www.latabledubelvedere.lu

54 - delano - May 2012

DYnAMIc ReTAIl The second edition of the Commerce Design competition organised by the UCVL city retail association has awarded prizes to 16 retail outlets, restaurants and service providers who have invested in refurbishing, designing and renovating their premises over the last two years. Around 50 entries to the competition were received by the organisers, which is almost double the number from the inaugural competition in 2010. UCVL director Yves Piron says the quality of the entries provided proof that the private sector in Luxembourg is dynamic in its

Mama Loves You

concourS coMMErcE DESiGn

approach to improving the shopping experience in the city.

The 16 winners are fashion stores Capsule, Gaëa Boutique, Jitrois, Just and Rue de la Paix, optician Acuitis, furniture and design store Ben & Pepper, delicatessens Oliviers & Co and Paul épicier-traiteur, restaurants À 1/2 mesure, Mama Loves You (photo) and Orient X Kebab, the Le Place d’Armes hotel, Gloss Bar, art gallery/store Galerie Lucien Schweitzer et Schwop! and BGL BNP Paribas’s agence Europe in Kirchberg. www.cityshopping.lu

lIFeSTYle

Philharmonie 2012-13 season

The DIScoVeRY Zone Now inextricably linked with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg, the Philharmonie has unveiled an eclectic programme of top quality concerts and new discoveries for its forthcoming season.

www.philharmonie.lu

56 - delano - May 2012

Canadian jazz pianist and singer Diana Krall is one of the stars of the 2012-13 season

Joachim Ladefoged

Pal Hansen

Robert Maxwell

British pianist Joanna MacGregor curates the OPL’s first “Aventure+” programme

Star conductor Valery Gergiev makes four appearances with the London Symphony Orchestra Steven Speliotis

The formal joining of forces of the Philharmonie concert hall with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg has allowed the orchestra to rethink its programme. The OPL will introduce three new series of concerts--les grands rendezvous featuring guest performers including Kazushi Ono (head of the Opéra de Lyon) and Radu Lupu; a series of Sunday Matinées for families; and a new “Aventure+” cycle of themed evenings featuring a symphony concert followed by a more unusual performance of world music, jazz or dance in the foyer of the concert hall. The first “Aventure+” series is curated by pianist Joanna MacGregor.

Other highlights of the season include a performance of Beethoven’s choral masterpiece the Missa solemnis performed by the Monteverdi Choir conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner, and four appearances by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Valery Gergiev performing Brahms and the lesser known Karol Szymanowski.

Away from the classical music, performers such as Canadian jazz star Diana Krall, violinist Nigel Kennedy and saxophone legend Sonny Rollins will also be appearing at the Philharmonie. And piano/DJ duo Bugge Wesseltoft and Henrik Schwarz will be performing a specially commissioned score to Joe May’s 1929 German crime drama Asphalt. Meanwhile, November’s “Rainy Days” programme will be dedicated to the work of John Cage, climaxing with an extravaganza Sunday with performances all over the DR Philharmonie complex.

The enigmatic John Cage is the focus of this year’s “Rainy Days” programme

Cecilia Bartoli

Sonny Rollins

Diana Krall

Discover a world of music Season 2012/13

Philharmonie Luxembourg Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg Ticketing (+352) 26 32 26 32 www.philharmonie.lu

Valery Gergiev

HÊlène Grimaud

lIFeSTYle

Eleven performances to watch

on STAGe KiDD piVot

Dean Buscher

KABUKI DReAMS

In Dark Matters, renowned choreographer Crystal Pite (with her company Kidd Pivot) explores her fascination with the unseen forces that influence body and soul. She demonstrates her deeply imaginative sense of staging in a work packed with humour and abstract intellectualism. The piece incorporates elements of Kabuki theatre with dynamic choreography, beautifully interpreted by the company’s brilliant dancers.

May 15 & 16, Grand Théâtre, Luxembourg-Limpertsberg, www.theatres.lu

Lou rEED

oRneRY Icon The problem with seeing icons like Lou Reed perform live is the very reputation with which they arrive on stage.

Expectations are unnaturally high among an audience when a “living legend” stands before them, but Reed has a reputation as being a particularly ornery performer. In addition, latest album Lulu has been roundly slammed by critics and fans alike. It is a pretentious and humourless double album inspired by Frank Wedekind’s early 20 th century plays and made with

58 - delano - May 2012

Metallica. In the words of The Guardian’s Alexis Petridis, “ it’s impossible to over-emphasise just how gruelling” is the “collaboration that doesn’t gel”.

Reed promises to play some of that album here, but as the title of the tour--VU to Lulu--suggests, he will also be diving into the glories of his Velvet Underground catalogue and some of his earlier solo work. If he is on form, then hearing ‘Waiting For My Man’ or ‘Sweet Jane’ may be worth the ticket price alone.

June 6, Rockhal, Esch-Belval, www.rockhal.lu

MArcuS MiLLEr

hAPPY SlAPPInG

Award-winning bassist Marcus Miller has played with many jazz greats such as Miles Davis and Wayne Shorter, but also alongside soul and pop artists such as Elton John, Bryan Ferry and Mariah Carey. His trademark style, using slapping and thumb technique, has won him acclaim from fans and critics alike as he explores the musical possibilities of his instrument of choice. He returns to den Atelier after a show in which he played tribute to Miles Davis’s legendary album Tutu (for which he wrote many of the songs).

May 17, den Atelier, LuxembourgHollerich, www.printempsmusical.lu

otELLo

MooR RooM

Deaa Barbara Aumüller

Verdi’s opera of the great Shakespearean tragedy is directed by Andreas Kriegenburg, long-time director of Hamburg’s renowned Thalia Theater. Just as Verdi was fascinated by Shakespeare, so Kriegenburg is fascinated by the story of Othello, which he sees as typical of a society long ravaged by war. The result is an intense and visually dramatic production that nevertheless allows the singers room to express themselves. Indeed, the production has received acclaim from the “serious” German press with the likes of Die Welt, the Süddeutsche Zeitung and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung all singing Kriegenburg’s praises.

May 21, 23 & 25, Grand Théâtre, Luxembourg-Limpertsberg, www.theatres.lu

SiSKiYou

TenDeR heART Siskiyou’s second album Keep Away The Dead was included on best album of the year lists by several websites and music magazines at the end of 2011. Most critics agree that the collection of “lovingly crafted” songs has seen the band develop into much more than a sideproject for Great Lakes Swimmers’ Colin Huebert. Indeed, as InSound puts it, Keep Away The Dead is “a strikingly cold-eyed, tender-hearted song cycle.”

May 18, Exit07, LuxembourgHollerich, www.rotondes.lu

AMAnDA roGErS

honeST SloG

American songstress Amanda Rogers has just released her fourth album, Hope From The Forgotten Woods, some 13 years after starting out as a recording artist. The road has been a long and winding one, featuring touring and self-management and even joining indie band Jupiter Sunrise. Her delicate sound, packed with what one reviewer calls “honest self-observation” is made for d:qliq’s intimate concert space.

June 1, d:qliq, Luxembourg-Centre, www.dqliq.lu

tHE tinG tinGS

InFecTIoUS DUo

Katie White and Jules De Martino have made some of the catchiest pop songs of the past five years--‘That’s Not My Name’ and ‘Shut Up And Let Me Go’--even if some critics labelled the sound as being a “particularly yelpy, reductive form of punk-pop”. The Ting Ting’s new sound is more sophisticated, employing the sort of retro-slick 1980s new wave pop production so favoured by contemporary acts.

Single ‘Hands’ was a simple but infectious minor hit and the band seems to be evolving away from its one-trick pony reputation.

June 3, den Atelier, Luxembourg-Hollerich, www.atelier.lu

May 2012 - delano - 59

lIFeSTYle

pAuL WELLEr

The chAnGInGMAn

Paul Weller has been labelled with the “modfather” sobriquet for far longer than is healthy. Yes, he was at the forefront of the Mod revival of that late 1970s and early 80s, and his style and attitude influenced the Britpop explosion of the mid 1990s, but as a songwriter and musician, Weller has come a long way from his early days with The Jam. He arrives for his first ever show in Luxembourg on the back of new album Sonik Kicks, which reached the top of the UK album charts (in his entire career only four albums have failed to make the top 10). The new album is a sprawling, eclectic affair that The Guardian’s Kitty Empire says “throws out ideas like a particularly exuberant Catherine wheel”. The new album will no doubt form the centre-piece of his live show, but Weller is always a crowd pleaser and likely to include a slew of favoured hits along the way.

June 17, Rockhal, Esch-Belval, www.rockhal.lu pLAnKton WAVES

TeASInG DUo JAMES MorriSon

SoUlFUl MeMoRIeS

Luxembourg electronic duo Plankton Waves is currently putting the final touches to a new album, due out in the autumn. The teaser material released online has been described by one blogger as “powerful eighties synth-pop...and electro-punk.” Meanwhile, this show will provide local audiences with a taste of what is to come and a chance to see how the duo has honed its song-writing craft over the past couple of years.

May 31, Exit07 (CarréRotondes), Luxembourg-Hollerich, www.rotondes.lu

60 - delano - May 2012

With producer Bernard Butler (ex of Suede) on board, and dealing with his father’s death, James Morrison’s latest album The Awakening is a more soulful record than the more straight-forward piano-driven pop, such as the hit single ‘You Give Me Something’, with which he made his name. Yet he still appeals to a wide audience, and his nice-bloke demeanour and pleasant on stage presence should make this a concert to remember.

May 30, Rockhal, Esch-Belval, www.atelier.lu

rADu Lupu

ShY chARISMA Multiple award-winning pianist Radu Lupu has a reputation as something of a mystery man. He shies the publicity of media interviews and plays with sensitivity and charisma, urging his audience to listen to the music above all else. Particularly noted for his interpretation of 19 th century German and Austrian composers, he plays here Schubert’s Impromptus D935 and Sonata D 845 and Franck’s Prélude, Choral et Fugue.

May 23, Philharmonie, LuxembourgKirchberg, www.philharmonie.lu

seasOn

les ThéâTres de la Ville de luXeMBOurG. DISCOVER THE SEASON 12/13 FROM 7 MAI 2012.

Grand ThéâTre & ThéâTre des CapuCins www.TheaTres.lu inFOrMaTiOn www.THEATRES.lu

BOOkinG T. +352/47 08 95-1 www.luxEMbOuRgTICkET.lu

lIFeSTYle

BRUeGhel MASTeRPIece

A major new exhibition at the Villa Vauban culled from the collection of 18th century courtier Baron Samuel von Brukenthal climaxes with a restored masterpiece by Pieter Brueghel the Elder. The Massacre of the Innocents at Bethlehem was researched and restored by experts from the Institut Royal du Patrimoine Artistique (IRPA) especially for the Villa Vauban exhibition. The show features works by other Dutch and Flemish, as well as German and Austrian, masters such as a Virgin Mary by Lucas Cranach the Elder and paintings by Jan van Eyck and Hans Memling. Also on show are Crucifixion by Antonello da Messina, Ecce Homo by Titian, and the Head of a Youth by Veronese.

Brukenthal’s collection of paintings, which he began in 1759, was highly regarded by his contemporaries and the Villa Vauban exhibition follows the collector’s original idea to organise the paintings according to schools and display them according to nationality.

SArAH SZE

eXTRAoRDInARY eVeRYDAY

Andrés Lejona

Pieter Brueghel the Elder

Art trEASurES FroM tHE bruKEntHAL coLLEction

Artist Sarah Sze’s installation in the Mudam Pavilion is a constellation of all kinds of everyday objects cleverly deployed in the exhibition space with precise rhythm and an architectural sense of composition. The result is an extraordinary landscape that challenges our understanding of the world around us.

Until October 14, Villa Vauban, Luxembourg-Centre, www.villavauban.lu

Four exhibitions to visit at

MUSeUMS AnD GAlleRIeS

Bert Danckaert

SecReT PlAceS

Scottish artist Joe Allen’s latest show reveals the painter at his most intimate and intense. The works especially created for the Galerie Clairefontaine use “a new palette of colours and harmonies” to explore Allen’s abstract themes, this time focusing on spaces and light.

At the Galerie’s Espace 2 photography gallery, Belgian artist Bert Danckaert captures details of city landscapes, featuring junctions, eroded walls, traces of colours and different materials.

Until June 2, Galerie Clairefontaine (Espace 1 and 2), Luxembourg-Centre, www.galerie-clairefontaine.lu

62 - delano - May 2012

Terry Adkins

JoE ALLEn AnD bErt DAncKAErt

Until September 16, Mudam, Luxembourg-Kirchberg, www.mudam.lu

tErrY ADKinS

BeFoRe PARIS Terry Adkins is an interdisciplinary artist, musician and cultural practitioner engaged in an ongoing quest to reinsert the legacies of unheralded immortal figures to their rightful place within the panorama of history. His show in Luxembourg precedes his participation at the Contemporary Art Triennial at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris.

Until June 9, Galerie Nordine Zidoun, Luxembourg-Gare, www.galeriezidoun.com

Pieter Brueghel the Younger (1564/65 −1637/38), The massacre of the Innocents (detail), about 1586 – 90, © Muzeul National Brukenthal, Sibiu

Titian

27 April > 14 October 2012

Art treasures from the Brukenthal collection Villa Vauban - Musée d’Art de la Ville de Luxembourg

Brueghel

18, av. Émile Reuter L-2090 Luxembourg T +352 4796 4901 www.villavauban.lu Opening hours Mon – Sun 10 a.m.– 6 p.m.

Tue closed Fri 10 a.m.– 9 p.m.

Cranach

van Eyck

lIFeSTYle

Four films to watch

coSMopoLiS

Alfama Films

The DARK KnIGhT

Widely acclaimed as the must-see movie of 2012, David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis looks likely to score the Canadian master his biggest ever box office hit.

Whether the fans of Robert Pattinson who will f lock to see their screen idol’s new film will be able to stomach Cronenberg’s very realistic violence and sex after all the pre-teen fluff of the Twilight films remains to be seen. Certainly the teaser trailer shows glimpses of the sort of graphic brutality Cronenberg delivered in A History of Violence and Eastern Promises (both starring the thinking woman’s Pattinson, Viggo Mortensen).

Cosmopolis is based on Don DeLillo’s novel about the day in the life of billionaire Eric Packer (Pattinson). Most of that day is spent in his chauffeur-driven limo, but it is nevertheless a day brimful of incident--for this is a book and film that speaks volumes about contemporary life and where society is headed.

Four by Two Films

on ScReen

tHE DictAtor

TIn-PoT DeSPoT Sacha Baron Cohen stars as a middle-eastern tyrant invited to address the United Nations who ends up wandering the streets of New York penniless and unrecognised after his beard is shaved off. Anna Faris co-stars as the owner of an eco-shop who unwittingly takes him in while John C. Reilly and Ben Kingsley also have roles.

Released May 18

Released May 25

DArK SHADoWS

Tim Burton’s darkly comic fantasy stars his muse Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins, an 18 th century businessman who is cursed by a witch and wakes up in 1972 to find his ancestral home in the hands of his dysfunctional descendants.

Depp seems to love hamming it up for Burton, and the director appears to be back to his playful best in this romp.

Released May 18

64 - delano - May 2012

on tHE roAD

JAcK Be nIMBle Walter Salles brings Jack Kerouac’s classic beat generation novel to life with Garret Hedlund and British actor Sam Riley in the roles of Dean Moriarty and Sal Paradise respectively. Salles seems to have captured the buzzing, free-spirited chaos of the novel and elicits smart performances from Hedlund (star of Tron:Legacy) and Riley (best known for his portrayal of Ian Curtis). Kristen Stewart, Kirsten Dunst, Steve Buscemi and Viggo Mortensen provide support.

Film4

Warner Bros. Pictures

hAMMY hoRRoR

Released May 25

MY oTHeR lIFe: CLAUDE SAUBER

Ballooning

InheRITInG The wInD

Claude Sauber’s gusty passion for ballooning takes him to new heights.

Olivier Minaire

Text: Tonya Stoneman

Claude Sauber

Ballooning

opportunitiES in LuXEMbourG

As Claude Sauber testifies, flying in a balloon is a unique experience and can be enjoyed by anyone. Skyline balloons (www.skylines.lu) offers “maiden flights” with highly experienced pilots and technical crew.

Those with experience or looking to take up ballooning as a pilot or part of a ground crew can contact the Commune Aérostatique (www.balloon.lu), which runs a pilot school and competitions and serves as a platform for ballooning enthusiasts in the Grand Duchy.

66 - delano - May 2012

Claude Sauber had taken his hot air balloon to the highest altitude possible with standard equipment--8,700 meters when he heard a pilot on the radio ask an air traffic controller if he could “say hello to a balloon in the area.” Sauber looked down into Geneva, Switzerland and watched a Lufthansa plane taxi down the runway and take off. Within a minute or so, the plane was close enough for him to make eye contact with the pilot. “He passed very close to me and I could see his face,” Sauber recalls.

“He made hand signs. The temperature outside was four to six degrees [Fahrenheit].

I could imagine him telling his passengers to look out the window at the fool freezing out there in his basket.”

Sauber got his start in aero sports early.

He took his first flight with his father, a private airplane pilot, when he was three years old. By age 16, he had his pilot’s license. That’s when his dad bought the first hot air balloon in Luxembourg. He opened a club with four of his friends, all pilots, and the men decided to switch to ballooning. The year was 1974 and their unorthodox behaviour confounded the community.

Most Luxembourgers had never seen balloons like these. People thought the men were crazy.

Nevertheless, interest in the club, Commune Aérostatique, surged and it grew rapidly, organising events and sponsoring world and European championships

throughout the next three decades. For a long time, Sauber pursued both of his passions: piloting airplanes and balloons. But eventually he could no longer put in the hours required to maintain both licenses. He chose ballooning and didn’t look back.

He became a champion competition pilot--he could regale you with stories about where the sport has taken him, but he’d rather talk about how, after more than 30 years, it still delivers an adrenaline rush. “I love to play with the winds and try to go through a place where the wind doesn’t seem to go,” he says. “We don’t have a mechanical solution to steer--we must go where the wind goes.” This January, after 25 years of waiting for favourable conditions, Sauber was able to cross the Alps into Italy. On that particular day, the usual south-westerly winds turned in a north-westerly direction and he flew for five hours, covering 250 kilometres before landing in Milano. He spent four hours of the f light at 6,000 meters--it was literally a mountain top experience.

Sauber splits his time between serving as the CEO/managing director of Binsfeld Corporate and introducing curious people to the thrill of ballooning. His goal is mostly to enjoy the sport, but crossing the Atlantic is a target he says he might pull out of the cupboard one day.

Carlo Seny

BGL BNP PARIBAS S.A. (50, avenue J.F. Kennedy, L-2951 Luxembourg, R.C.S. Luxembourg : B 6481) Communication Marketing, May 2012

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