On Wednesday 11 February 2026, Luxembourg trade unions the LCGB and OGBL called on Prime Minister Luc Frieden to use the upcoming informal meeting of EU leaders to support a European industrial policy that invests in workers and creates quality jobs across all sectors and to oppose proposals that would weaken labour standards in Luxembourg and throughout Europe.
The heads of state and government of the EU will meet in Belgium on Wednesday 12 February 2026, for an informal meeting focusing on the single market and strengthening Europe’s competitiveness amid increasing geopolitical and economic pressure.
In a press release, both trade unions said they align themselves with the position of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and emphasised that Europe will only be competitive if it invests in its workforce through better jobs, enhanced skills, high-quality public services and long-term investment that supports innovation and productivity.
The trade unions said: “The debate on competitiveness and the future of European industries comes at a crucial moment and workers across Europe are increasingly facing job cuts and corporate restructuring. This trend continues to grow, particularly in industry, manufacturing and service sectors. Luxembourg is clearly not immune.”
They added: “At the end of 2025, Amazon announced job cuts across Europe, including Luxembourg and ArcelorMittal has also recently communicated job reductions. The prospect of improvement seems distant for now, given the European Commission’s deregulatory attempts supported by corporations. One proposal, which will also be discussed at the informal EU leaders’ meeting and aligns with deregulation, is the so-called ‘28th legal regime’. This proposal risks allowing some companies to bypass national labour law, apply less stringent European rules, or even remove certain employee protections in the event of a company closure.”
The OGBL and LCGB emphasised that Europe’s strengths have always rested on strong industries, high standards, a skilled workforce, collective bargaining and robust public services and that this is why Europe needs an industrial policy that strengthens strategic sectors while ensuring that benefits are distributed across all regions and throughout the economy.
Both trade unions stressed that sustainable competitiveness required significant investment in Luxembourg’s industries, workers and their skills and remarked that addressing these challenges through budget cuts and deregulation would only weaken the European economic and social model.
The organisations specifically called on policymakers to:
• recognise the importance of quality jobs, public services and robust infrastructure for strengthening European competitiveness;
• implement ambitious investment plans and end deregulatory measures that weaken workers’ rights and social and environmental standards;
• develop a genuine industrial policy covering all sectors, based on significant investment and a “Made in Europe” approach;
• integrate strict social conditions into all public funding and state aid to promote quality jobs and collective bargaining;
• limit the use of subcontractors and better regulate temporary work;
• invest in upskilling and reskilling and uphold the individual right to training;
• promote gender equality and eliminate pay gaps;
• suspend and review the economic governance framework and introduce permanent common investment instruments modelled on NextGenerationEU and SURE;
• strengthen multilateralism and develop fair and balanced trade relations based on high social standards.
