Five stories you may have missed
In case you missed them, the Luxembourg Times has selected five top news stories of the week for you
Luxembourg parliament's session Photo: Lex Kleren
Deals allow French, Belgians to keep telecommuting to Luxembourg jobs
France has joined Belgium in allowing cross-border workers two more months of working from home without the risk of paying taxes in both those countries and Luxembourg, Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna said Wednesday. The neighbouring countries are extending until 31 August an agreement that encouraged teleworking rather than commuting to jobs in Luxembourg, the Grand Duchy's officials said.
Parliament extends virus response measures past state of emergency
Luxembourg's parliament on Monday extended restrictions aimed at stopping the spread of the virus, including controversial rules on forced hospitalisation. The bill passed by just 31 votes out of 60 ahead of the end of the country's state of emergency on Wednesday.
The Covid-19 laws voted on Monday uphold existing restrictions on public gatherings and health and safety measures in restaurants and bars. They also make permanent that fines may be assessed against people violating health rules such as wearing masks and distancing in public places.
Court acquits suspects in spy case that toppled Juncker government
A judge on Thursday acquitted three former intelligence service agents charged with illegal wiretapping in an operation that the defendants said was sanctioned by then-Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker.
The former head of Luxembourg's intelligence service (SREL), Marco Mille, and former agents Frank Schneider and André Kemmer were accused of recording a conversation with a source in 2007, and then tapping the source's phone for several days without proper approval. The public prosecutor during the trial had demanded a fine against all three defendants for the wiretapping operation, which it said was illegal.
Gramegna says consensus-building skills make him good Eurogroup pick
Finance minister Pierre Gramegna submitted his candidacy for the presidency of the Eurogroup on Thursday, saying his mandate in Luxembourg’s three-party coalition would leave him well-placed to build consensus within the euro currency bloc. Gramegna will be up against Spain's Nadia Calviño and Ireland's Paschal Donohoe.
The presidency of the Eurogroup – a gathering of eurozone finance ministers – is up for grabs after Portugal's Mario Centeno left his country’s government.
ArcelorMittal wants billions from taxpayers to make Europe's steel clean
Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal needs billions of euros from taxpayers and help against competitors in developing countries so it can produce carbon-neutral steel in Europe within 30 years, the world's largest steelmaker said on Thursday.
The company's transition away from fossil fuels requires Europe's governments and others to create clean-energy infrastructure costing up to €165 billion or €200 billion, depending on the type of production technology deployed in the future, executives said on a conference call with reporters.
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