Bottom line: the government’s advisory body believes that Luxembourg needs a ‘pandemic law’. The report states that the government is looking into a non-emergency pandemic law which would prevent the need for a state of emergency.
According to the ESC, the health system has worked, but its weaknesses have also been revealed during this pandemic period -Luxembourg’s high dependence on health professionals from abroad, for example. To tackle vulnerability in the event of a pandemic, the ESC calls on politicians to develop a coherent strategy to tackle staff shortages in the health sector.
Moreover, the council also stresses the importance of a continued government effort at an EU level to protect and strengthen the European internal market.
The ESC also recommends that remote work be regulated in a uniform manner in cooperation with Luxembourg’s three neighbouring countries.
On top of that, the self-employed need to be taken into consideration more. At least in the first stage, the self-employed were forgotten in the crisis, as they could not benefit from aid similar to partial unemployment. The council thus calls for a review of the self-employed status for a fairer coverage.
