Ambassadors and MPs Take to City Streets on 2 Wheels to Promote Benefits of Biking

On Wednesday 11 May 2016, the Luxembourg Minister of Sustainable Development and Infrastructure, several EU ambassadors, green MPs and representatives of cycling associations gathered in front of the Grand Ducal palace to explore the city on two wheels as part of the "Bike2work promotion tour".

The initiative followed the Informal Transport Council held in October 2015 under the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the European Union, during which Ministers and Secretaries of State adopted a "Declaration on cycling as a climate friendly mode of transport". The declaration cited cycling as "a European success story" and is based on the four primary motivations of innovation, environment, health and financing.

Luxembourg Minister of Sustainable Development and Infrastructure, François Bausch, has advocated the deployment of intelligent and green solutions for more efficient and sustainable mobility, alongside the Minister for the Environment, Carole Dieschbourg. Now that the Presidency has passed to the Netherlands, a nation with 5.5 million more bicycles than people, the governments of both countries have joined forces to promote this eco-friendly form of transport and encourage the public to use it as a means of getting to work or school. The event organisers joked that it is not necessary to look like a Tour de France competitor, highlighting instead the importance of motivation and, therefore, cycling infrastructure.

It was with a big smile that Minister Bausch arrived on his bicycle to the starting line, greeting other participants which included new British Ambassador to Luxembourg, John Marshall, and Dutch Ambassador, Peter Kok. The group then pedalled off for a tour of the city centre, heading towards Residence of the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Luxembourg-Kirchberg, with a lunch, informative workshop and discussion at the Residence to follow.

The event forms part of Cycling Festival Europe 2016, a continent-wide project comprised of multiple cycling activities to show the fun, efficiency and health attributes of this mode of transport.

Photos by Sarah Graham