Joke gone too far: the public and the authorities have failed to appreciate the Ministry of Defence’s initiative

Against the backdrop of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) open vote on the selection of a new design for euro banknotes, Luxembourg’s Directorate of Defence published its own concept for the banknotes on social media. The images, generated by artificial intelligence, featured military elements: the 5-euro note featured an A400M military transport aircraft, the 20-euro note a satellite, the 100-euro note a tank, and the 200-euro note a machine gun. The post was accompanied by the caption: ‘Forget about alternative proposals. How about European security?’

However, the ministry’s initiative, intended as an informal call to draw attention to security issues, has drawn sharp criticism. LSAP MP Yves Cruchten expressed doubts about the appropriateness of such a stance for the country, emphasising that Luxembourg had never previously engaged in the glorification of weapons. In his view, financial investment in the defence sector should not turn into a display of military hardware.

For his part, Christian Schleck, president of the SPAL military trade union, described the publication as being in poor taste, adding that the defence sector has more pressing priorities. Representatives of the Directorate of Defence confirmed to RTL journalists that the publication was genuine, but have so far refrained from making any official comments regarding the resulting outcry.