LUXEMBOURG (dpa-AFX) – The Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel has complained about a lack of European solidarity and cooperation in the corona crisis. One had to experience how “fragile” the commitments to open borders, freedom of movement and solidarity signed 25 years earlier in Schengen were, said Bettel on Tuesday in a speech on the State of the Union in front of the parliament in Luxembourg. “The first reflexes from a number of the EU member states for isolation were the opposite of what we are actually,” said Bettel.
Without directly mentioning the temporary closings of borders by Germany and France, he criticized that from one day to the next everything that seemed to be an integral part of everyday life was called into question. “After the first shock,” the cooperation in the region worked very well. In this way, in constant contact with neighboring countries, it was possible to ensure that commuters were able to cross borders.
Around 540,000 people in Luxembourg have been tested for the virus at least once. There is no reason to introduce new restrictions now. Luxembourg will have a record budget deficit of 4.4 billion euros this year because of the pandemic
– after all, less than the expected 5 billion. The financial sector,
who generates 30 percent of the wealth of the Grand Duchy, survived the crisis better than expected./rtt/DP/he
