The first bill passed by 31 votes out of 60. 25 MPs voted against the law while 4 MPs abstained from voting. The majority of the DP, LSAP, and the Greens voted in favour of the new law. Opposition parties CSV and ADR voted against the bill. The Left and the Pirates abstained from voting. Main opposition party CSV mainly opposed the new law due to textual unclarities.
The second bill was similarly passed by 31 votes out of 60. The law also has a validity of one month. CSV cited textual incoherencies and again voted against the bill. Their opposition was shared by the ADR while the Left and the Pirates abstained from voting.
Chamber president Fernand Etgen began the parliamentary session by stressing that the crisis is not over yet despite the state of emergency expiring on Wednesday.
The Covid-19 laws voted on Monday revolve around a number of measures that affect private individuals (individuals who disregard safety measures can still be fined), uphold restrictions on large public gatherings, and maintain safety measures in bars and restaurants.
CSV MP Claude Wiseler explained that his party had backed the government in implementing the restrictions on personal freedom because the alarming situation had demanded drastic measures. He explained that his party's stance has now shifted as the draft bill lacks concrete objectives. The first version of the draft bill included a controversial rule on forced hospitalisation. Wiseler explained that this first version has now been updated in favour of "forced confinement" but stressed that many questions remain unanswered. "The content of this text can, in our eyes, not be applied [in a juridicial context]," he argued.
Wiseler conceded that the updated version of the draft bill is better than the first version. It nevertheless suffers from textual unclarities, which is why CSV voted against it, the politician said.
LSAP MP Georges Engel meanwhile said that it was "irresponsible" to vote against the new law. "What happens if this law is not passed? We'll go back to a situation that we had before the crisis, where everything is allowed. Where we can do anything, where thousands of people can get together and risk infecting each other," he argued.
ADR MP Roy Reding argued that he had been surprised and startled by the drastic measures implemented in March. This sense of surprise morphed into horror when he saw the first version of the draft bill, he said. Reding added that he still had concerns about the updated version. The ADR was therefore against the new law, he concluded.
The Left MP Marc Baum echoed other politicians in welcoming the changes that were made to the first version of the bill. His party nevertheless abstained from voting because the text is "poorly structured and written," he explained.
Pirate Party MP Sven Clement similarly said the the updated version was better than the initial version. He argued that the bill nevertheless relied on deficient laws, which is why the Pirates abstained from voting.
The two laws are valid for one month and can be amended at any given time - provided the Chamber of Deputies gives its green light to the modifications.
