The petition №2540 has received 4,770 votes out of the 4,500 required. The law obligates the parliament to consider the proposals which got so many signatures.

extend parental leave for up to 12 days for either parent. The 12-day leave per year will be available until the child reaches the age of 13.

By the way, this is not the only petition that is pending signatures and possible approval. You can read all the appeals currently open in Luxembourg and vote for the one you think is the most important 

Successful petition on extended parential leave will appear in the House

The budget for environmental measures is expanded to 790 million euros. Luxembourg law commits the government to a regular five-year plan for the protection of the environment. The current plan applies until 2027, with a potential extension to 2030.

The renewed plan includes four key points

Creating a network of protected areas. Now 27.8% of the territory of Luxembourg's natural resources is protected, but a minimum of 30% is required;

Restoring natural habitats for animals and birds;

Working together closely with various organizations and agencies to implement the plan at the national level;

Reaching the international level with environmental prospects.

The challenge of protecting natural areas and land in general in Luxembourg lies in the high fragmentation of the country and the dense development of buildings.

Delano

Luxembourg's environment protection plan costs will rise

The first February weekends are here and we collected a few ideas on how to spend them nicely. Weekend events digest that will satisfy loners as well as whole families.

One of Luxembourg's most extraordinary and popular musical bands will perform on Saturday, February 4, at Brasserie de l'Arrêt (Cubana Café). The band is known for their covers not only of contemporary songs but also of hits of the 70's, 80's and 90's. The ticket for the concert is only 10 euros!

Address: Brasserie de l'Arrêt (Cubana Café), 365 route de Longwy, L-1941 LUXEMBOURG

A modern vision of one of Goethe's earlier works. The classicist at one time changed the ending of the play to a tragic one. But now the stage director Stefan Maurer offers a glimpse of the utopian and controversial original. The play will be performed from Friday, February 3, through Wednesday, February 8, at the Théâtre National du Luxembourg. Tickets cost up to 25 euros.

Address: Théâtre National du Luxembourg (TNL), 194 ROUTE DE LONGWY, L-1940 LUXEMBOURG

«Un océan d'amour» — is an unconventional mute performance, in which the actors are sheets of paper. With the gentle hands of the artists, they are transformed into ships, people, and the stories that come with them. The performance is designed for families with children from 7 years old. The ticket price is 26 euros.

Address: Rotondes, 3 place des Rotondes, L-2448 LUXEMBOURG

In an era of vlogging and amateur filmmaking, it's a strong advantage to have editing skills. That's why Kids Life Skills is holding an exciting workshop for kids ages 11 to 13. In 6 lessons, they will learn all the basics of editing: from simple clip trimming to creating spectacular transitions. The price of the course is 225 euros. 

: the workshop will be in English, and you will need a personal work device!

Address: 2 Rue Gerhard Mercator, L-2182 Luxembourg

Luxembourg-city.com

How to spend your first weekends of February

The Ministry of Transport and the unions confirmed the liquidation of several bus lines that served industrial districts. 

Their efficiency was too small, so it didn't cover the expenses for their work

Starting February 12th, these public transport routes will no longer be working:

17U Clervaux - Hosingen-Stolzembourg/SEO; 

This decision is a part of the transport reorganization program that started back in 2016.

Paperjam

6 bus lanes will disappear on February 12

 states, that Luxembourg has lost several ranking scores. According to the organization, the defining problem lies in the lack of anti-corruption legislation and transparency mechanisms in the economical sectors of the country.

Flora Cresswell, Transparency International's regional manager of Western Europe

, mentioned, that she finds political and business interests mingle to be a major threat. Companies tend to get into business relationships as quickly as possible, which makes them less competitive.

Another problem relates to high-ranked powerful politicians switching to the private sector as soon as they leave public service. Current rules and regulations cannot adequately prevent conflicts of interest in such cases.

Although Luxembourg is still in the top ten countries, fighting against corruption, the trend should be taken into account, to prevent further problems.

Transparency International indicated few gaps in the anti-corruption law of Luxembourg

A section of the railroad in northern Luxembourg is closed to traffic in both directions. CFL reports an accident in Burden, forcing emergency services to the scene.

No details have yet been disclosed on the topic, as well as the 

. Currently, passengers travel by temporary substitute buses along a special route.

L'Essentiel

Train traffic is blocked between Kautenbach and Ettelbrück

Eurostat has published its recent research. It deals with 2021's food and alcohol expenses of EU households. Luxembourg is among the countries with the lowest ratio of food expenses. However, alcohol spending is much higher here.

On average, Luxembourgers spend only 9% of their income on food and non-alcoholic beverages. There is only one country – Ireland – that has a lower figure (8.3%). The biggest food expenses ratio to income is in Romania: citizens spend almost a quarter of their wages on groceries.

Alcohol accounts for almost 1% of the GDP of the entire European Union in 2021. On average, Europeans spend 1.8% of their wages buying alcoholic beverages. Italians spend the least of all – just 1%. The Grand Duchy's residents though spend 2.7% on alcohol.

2.7% seems like not a lot to think about. However, compared to the 9% that Luxembourgers spent on groceries, this figure for alcohol does not look so low anymore.

How much Luxembourgers spend on food

Wage indexation, with its first stage today, is widely discussed in all parts of society. The fact that the next indexation will happen in only two months, particularly in April, is highly inspiring. Nevertheless, after the April indexation, the earnings of Luxembourgers may in fact decrease, in spite of the rates of growth.

program for electricity bill benefits ends in April

. As a result, low- and middle-income employees will be the most affected. And the cancelation will most likely even negate almost all of the advantages of indexation.

 executives and high-paid people would feel the most comfortable

, since their discounts were already the lowest. However, they will still have to provide their employees with the very same 2.5 percent increase.

Will the real income fall after the second indexation?

Union labor organizations are unhappy because, according to them, the result of the recent indexation provides an unfair correlation of indexation figures to the actual increase in wages. For example, such raises sometimes move people into the higher tax class.

Nora Beck, the president of the OGBL union, notes, that the increase in wages for workers with an income of 5000 euros a month will only demonstrate 1.7% in real life, not 2.5%. Moreover, this category of tax residents has witnessed a tax payment increase of 21.8% over the last six years.

The tax law does not take into account rapid inflation. And now labor unions intend to continue their fight for a law reformation, 36-hour working week at the same wages, and providing other measures of support for the employed population of the country.

Unions demand full tax reform

The European Parliament voted on the report on the modernization of the current visa system. 35 MPs voted for the approval of the document and 5 MPs voted against it.

Digitization of the application process will solve

 a number of administrative problems all at once.

First, physical copies of documents will no longer be needed for the application.

Secondly, it would help to distribute applications evenly across the participating authorities and let the applicant see the exact country reviewing the application.

And thirdly, it will significantly accelerate the process and improve security: since all the applications will be collected on a united platform, that will eventually store all the necessary information. So it will be easier to secure data.

Whether the report will be implemented depends on the negotiations of the parties.