Delano December 2012

DECEMBER 2012

UNDERSTANDING LUXEMBOURG

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A LAND OF CONFUSION Text by Duncan Roberts

L

uxembourg is renowned for its consensus politics, but there are some subjects for which compromise spells disaster. The abortion law passed by Luxembourg’s parliament on November 22 is a messy piece of legislation that does nobody any favours-it is abhorred by both pro-choice and anti-abortion campaigners.

It does at least partly decriminalise abortion and hopefully means there is little chance of the tragedy that befell Savita Halappanavar in Ireland in October happening in Luxembourg. Nevertheless, there was anger outside parliament as deputies debated the bill.

Around 100 pro-choicers, the majority women, protested against the bill which forces women to have two consultations before they can have an abortion. They were supported by women parliamentarians inside the Chamber of Deputies. Lydie Polfer and Viviane Loschetter (of the DP and Greens respectively) both argued justifiably that obligatory consultations, and especially two, are an affront to women’s dignity and an insult to their intelligence. Yes, having an abortion is an emotional decision and one that should not be taken lightly, and the practice should never be abused, but the law suggests that women are incapable of making

up their own minds. It is insulting and a step back in time. The LSAP, with the exception of Marie-Josée Frank, voted with its CSV coalition partner for the law. Former LSAP deputy Vera Spautz, who resigned her seat in parliament last month over differences with her party on this and other legislation, said the compromise law was anti-women and a “capitulation to the church.”

Except that the church and pro-life campaigners are equally unhappy. The archbishop of Luxembourg, Jean-Claude Hollerich, wrote an open letter a couple of weeks before the parliamentary vote in which he said that the liberalisation of the law was the wrong path and suggested that even in the case of rape it should not be permitted.

Which unfortunately brings to mind the heavily criticised ranting of Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock before the US elections and president Obama’s well-judged riposte on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: “This is exactly why you don’t want a bunch of politicians, mostly male, making decisions about women’s health care decisions,” Obama said. Following the botched compromise that parliament delivered in November, we are sure many Luxembourgers would agree.

DECEMBER 2012

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CONTENTS

CURRENT AFFAIRS

LIFESTYLE 12

56

DECEMBER 2012 Holiday presents Delano’s guide to local Luxembourg gift ideas

Big city life

48

Now past the 100,000 resident mark, how will the capital change?

10

50

CELLAR LAUGHS

UK comics hit Konrad’s 18

FRÈRES DES HOMMES

How NGO is tackling poverty 58

ON STAGE

18 don’t-miss events this winter 64

KIDS

Five ways to beat cabin fever

EUROCONTROL

Institute changes course 21

JUNCKER TAPPED

Secret service under fire 22

THANKSGIVING

REGULARS

Amcham hosts Turkey fete

BUSINESS

28

42 THINK LOCAL Liina Munari What she misses about Finnish Christmas.

Risky business

How companies are turning “risk” into an “asset” 26

MICROFINANCE

NGOs honoured 34

TONGUE TRAINING

Learning languages at work 38

HOLIDAY SHOPPING

Double-digit drop expected 40

66

FIDUCIAIRES

Warn against goose slaughter

COVERSTORY

LUXURY SHOPPING: Robert Goeres may be the de facto “godfather” of rue Philippe II’s super high-end retailers, but he says that Luxembourg City “still has a soul.”

MY OTHER LIFE Robert Mandell How the US ambassador took up painting.

DECEMBER 2012

7

PUBLIC SOCIAL SPENDING, IN PERCENTAGE OF GDP

FRACKING DISMISSED

Over the past decade, government expenditures on family, health, pension and unemployment benefits have increased markedly in most European countries, new figures from the OECD reveal: 33

France

POINT 24 TO CEASE

Sweden

Publisher Saint-Paul Luxembourg has decided to end production in December of its free tabloid Point 24, which was launched in 2007. Saint-Paul says it will refocus resources to its online products.

Belgium

28

Germany Luxembourg 24

Ruhrfisch / Creative Commons

CURRENT AFFAIRS UK

Minister for energy Étienne Schneider has ruled out any moves to begin hydraulic fracturing operations in the search for natural gas in the south of the country. The minister was responding to hints from one of his predecessors, EU parliamentarian Robert Goebbels, that test drilling should be started. The method of extracting natural gas from shale, known as fracking, is controversial.

Matthieu Riegler / Creative Commons

19

15

SCHLECK DOWN UNDER

2000

2012 (estimate)

David Laurent / Wide

Charles Caratini

“FINANCIAL MARKETS MUST SERVE THE REAL ECONOMY” ROBERT GOEBBELS

The Council of the European Union

Luxembourg is the 11th most infidel state in Europe, according to a survey of users of a website that aids affairs. High earners in the financial sector are the largest group of Luxembourg residents engaged in extramarital flings, reports Gleeden.com, which claims to be “the number one site for extra-conjugal encounters in Europe.”

The top three adulterous countries are France, Italy and Belgium. The site says 68% of the site’s users “believe that infidelity is the secret to a couple’s longevity” and 57% of self-declared cheaters say they are “in love with their spouse.”

STADIUM NO-GO

8

1990

JUST MISSED THE TOP 10

Andy Schleck plans to start his comeback after an injury-plagued season at the Tour Down Under in Australia in January. Schleck suffered a fractured pelvis in June and missed the Tour de France and the Olympics.

Following months of controversy, plans to construct a new national football stadium and shopping mall in Livange have been dropped. Instead, the Josy Barthel stadium will be renovated to meet UEFA standards.

1980

REDING GETS QUOTAS Luxembourg’s European commissioner added another coup to her list of achievements since she joined the EU’s executive body in 2004. Reding has now pushed through draft legislation requiring company boards to have at least a 40% female representation by 2020. “I don’t like quotas, but I like what they do,” Reding is often quoted as saying. Her proposal still has to be adopted by the European Parliament.

DECEMBER 2012

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CURRENT AFFAIRS

David Laurent / Wide

SUNFLOWER GROWS Sunflower Montessori crèche continued its success story with the opening of a third facility in November. Located in the NordLB Bank building, in Findel, the new crèche has capacity for 79 children aged up to four years. www.sunflower.lu

CITY CONTINUES NIGHT-FLIGHT BAN

Steve Eastwood

The council of the City of Luxembourg has voted to maintain the ban on air traffic landing and taking off at Findel between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.

The council debate followed demands from freight carrier Cargolux to permit night flights in its bid to be more competitive (see page 27). Cargolux makes several hundred take offs and landings outside of the permitted time frame, some 60 percent of which are approved (it has to pay a fine for the other 40 percent). The freight carrier says some night flights are essential if animals or perishable goods are being transported. But the city council, while recognising the economic importance of the airport, says that night flights affect some 55,000 residents.

BIG BROTHER IS GOOGLING Google received at least 34,614* requests for data about its users from governments around the world during the first six months of the year, up 37% from the same period in 2011, according to the internet giant’s Transparency Index. France, Germany and the UK are--proportional to their populations--about half as likely to demand information about Google accounts as the US, which is far and away the global leader. On the other hand, a Google spokeswoman tells Delano that “we haven’t received any requests from Luxembourg.”

Luc Deflorenne (archives)

NUMBER OF SPECIFIC USERS FOR WHICH A COURT OR GOVERNMENT AGENCY HAS REQUESTED DATA FROM GOOGLE, JANUARY-JUNE 2012

ARMY DEATH MYSTERY

India 3,467

Germany 2,007

France 1,880

UK 1,732

Japan 133

Belgium 127

Turkey 120

Norway 37

Ireland 34

Denmark 32

Luxembourg 0

* Figures from certain countries were not included when it is illegal to publish such figures--in China, for example-and where “revealing the statistics could place important investigations at risk”.

MANDELL HAILS OBAMA

Steve Eastwood

Mystery still surrounds the death of a soldier at the Camp Militaire Waldhof, an army munitions dump, on November 5. At first thought to be an accident, and then maybe suicide, the nature of the soldier’s death by gunshot now suggests that another person was involved. The soldier, a 22-year old from Münsbach who had served with the KFOR contingent in Kosovo, was probably killed with his own rifle, according to some reports. Two fellow soldiers were taken into custody two days later after the state prosecutor approved house searches, but one was later released without charge.

US 16,281

US ambassador Robert Mandell hosted an election breakfast at the Hilton Doubletree hotel in Dommeldange on the morning of November 7 to watch the results of the US presidential election.

The ambassador said the election was “a true celebration of American democracy” and spoke about the adversity many voters faced in getting to the polling booths. “This morning the voters spoke… personally, it is exhilarating to have my friend Barack Obama become the 45th president of the United States,” he said.

As for the consequences for his own future, Mandell said and that he and his wife Julie looked forward “to many years of continued service.”

DECEMBER 2012

9

CURRENT AFFAIRS

Stephen Evans

Paul Killeen

Konrad Comedy Club

CELLAR LAUGHS

Upstairs at Konrad Café & Bar during the interval

Since the beginning of the year Konrad Comedy Club has been hosting monthly events featuring professional stand-up comedians in the cellar of the café-bar venue. The comedians, based in the UK, are flown over courtesy of Luxair and perform for two consecutive evenings to full houses in the intimate basement venue.

Some have been better received than others, with this year’s crowd favourites being Andrew O’Neill, Canadian Tony Law and Jim Smallman according to an informal survey conducted by Delano. The latest performer was 42-year old Markus Birdman who managed to antagonise some members of the audience with some ill-chosen words. Nevertheless, the Comedy Club has been a huge success and the organisers are keen to extend and expand the programme in 2013. DR

MC Jim Kent

Geeta Rajaraman

Photographed by Jessica Theis

09_adresse_internet

Konrad owner Ture Hedberg

Markus Birdman on the Konrad Comedy Club stage

Charles Oakes and Lene Pedersen

Louise King, Jean Georges and Michael Whiting

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DECEMBER 2012

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TIME ON YOUR SIDE

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CURRENT AFFAIRS

Urban planning

BIG CITY LIFE Having reached the milestone of 100,000 residents, Luxembourg City is now officially in a different league. How has the city changed over the past 30 years? What are the implications of continued population growth and immigration on social cohesion in the capital? What challenges do urban planners face?

And how can Europe’s smallest “big capital city” ensure that its residents continue to enjoy a high quality of life?

Text by Duncan Roberts, Neel Chrillesen and Tonya Stoneman Photography by Olivier Minaire

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CURRENT AFFAIRS

LYDIE POLFER Despite growth, the city has retained its character

I

t is now just over thirty years since a 29-year old Lydie Polfer first stepped into her father’s shoes to become mayor of Luxembourg City.

At the time the city’s population stood at around 79,000, but already the new mayor and her team were fully aware that as the city started to attract players from the international financial services industry, the population would grow. They planned accordingly, setting out details of how the capital could develop in a master development plan--the Plan Joly. According to the Plan Joly the city can contain 150,000 inhabitants, Polfer says today. She is now the alderwoman in charge of urban planning and is perfectly placed to provide an overview of how the city has developed and the challenges it faces for the future.

“At the time I became mayor, we were just beginning our development as a financial centre,” she explains. “It was a change that fortunately brought a lot of positive things to our city from which we are still benefiting today. However, it also meant that in the 80s and 90s we were faced with a surge in demand for office space.”

The banks all wanted to be on the boulevard Royal and when there was no more space there, they sought to establish their offices in the centre. But Polfer’s administration was against the idea, fearing that the banks would even take over residential space in the city and so their urban planning called for financial institutions to move out of the centre to the future development of the Kirchberg.

“That’s how the Deutsche Bank became the first to set up in Kirchberg--which up till then had only welcomed European institutions. Of course with an increase in demand for offices also came an increase in demand for housing, as

well as an unavoidable increase in the cost of real estate.” And so the city spread even further with the development of commercial activity zones, such as the Cloche d’Or, and of neighbourhoods like Kaltreis in Bonnevoie or Sauerwiss in Gasperich.

The housing situation is one that particularly concerns Christian Schulz, professor of European sustainable spatial development and analysis at the University of Luxembourg.

“Mid-level incomes and below can’t afford what estate developers are offering anymore, and yet don’t have access to social housing. There have been some political attempts to counterbalance the private developers impact on the housing situation, but it’s far from enough. Of course, Luxembourg isn’t the only city in Europe where community planning for the less fortunate isn’t being taken enough into consideration. In Munich or Frankfurt, for example, it’s much the same.”

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CURRENT AFFAIRS

Polfer acknowledges that housing does pose a problem, but says that the Ville de Luxembourg has made an effort to try to provide affordable accommodation. “The city has built on its own land or has given property developers access to land in favourable conditions. There’s no denying however that the housing situation in the city today is difficult for many. We have a number of big projects still on the way but unfortunately, everything that has to do with property development always takes a very long time to actually get going. One of the issues we are facing and for which we have to propose more solutions is rental housing, for which there is a growing demand.”

Housing problems One solution to ease the problem would be a slowing of growth, suggests Markus Hesse, professor of urban studies at the University of Luxembourg. If growth pressure were not so high, that might provide a path to development so infrastructure could catch up. But in Luxembourg, there is a strong inclination to foster growth by providing office space, the cash cow of the city’s economy, he says. “Both material infrastructures and institutions’ mentality face difficulties with rapid growth,” he says. “Pressure of the economy and development has been so big that Luxembourg has difficulty adjusting adequately. The rise of commuting exerts pressure on traffic systems, housing is complicated in terms of who has control of property and who makes decisions about providing affordable housing, and congestion is rapidly becoming an issue. These things are difficult, and what I hear from those active in economy development is the way things are politically regulated and administered is not conforming to economic significance and rapid growth.”

Hesse is concerned about the lack of a midterm strategy that will accommodate growth and not just office space as a business machine.

“Urban planning and integration is really difficult,” he says. “Our chief goal should be to let this place grow into something liveable, where people want to be, where the quality of life is high.”

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But Schulz is more optimistic and praises the way the city’s administration has made what he calls “tremendous efforts” to handle the growing demographic and economic challenges. “For example in the way traffic is being handled and the green spaces are being preserved.” On the other hand, Schulz is less enthusiastic about some aspects of the plan for the Ban de Gasperich, which will extend development of the southern periphery of the city westwards towards Hesperange. “Projects like building an Auchan in Gasperich are not the kind of economic pillar Luxembourg should build on. It creates more traffic issues, creates unnecessary rivalries with Kirchberg and is, in my opinion, not the way to go in retail. It would be much more helpful and productive to serve the local businesses first.”

Polfer agrees that more local businesses, retail accessible to all, should be encouraged to set up the city centre. “A lot of high-end stores have sprung up these past years in the centre and

"ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES IN THE YEARS TO COME WILL BE AVOIDING SOCIAL TENSION" PROFESSOR CHRISTIAN SCHULZ

DECEMBER 2012

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CURRENT AFFAIRS

CAPITAL CITY Could support a population of up to 150,000

GROWING CITY POPULATION OF THE CAPITAL 100,001

71,653

1960

although there is a demand for them, we must have a more diversified commercial offer in the city. This is why the Hamilius project is so important. It will ensure the diversity we need to preserve in Luxembourg.” The Hamilius project is a prestigious new block that will extend along the boulevard Royal, accommodating retail, office and residential units. Designed by the Sir Norman Foster’s architecture bureau, working with Luxembourg architects Tetra Kayser Paul et associés, the complex will house some 16 to 18,000 square meters of retail space, 10,000 square meters of offices and around 8,000 square meters of residential apartments and will be topped by a spectacular public roof garden and glass restaurant.

76,159

78,924

1970

1981

that lower income families will be priced out of living at Hamilius, has said the project is further evidence of the continued “gentrification” of the city centre. Lydie Polfer says that gentrification is not necessarily always a bad thing. She points to the Grund as an example.

“A lot of houses [in the Grund] were previously in a poor state, a massive rehabilitation took place, mostly through private investors. I don’t see this as a bad thing, even though it of course changed the cost of living there…” Indeed, she believes Luxembourg has successfully retained its unique character despite its astonishing growth and its increasing multiplicity, as the city calls it. Others, such as songwriter Serge Tonnar, who composed a song titled ‘Laksembörg-Sitti’ that bemoans the face-lifting of the capital and its marketing as a trendy city full of latte-sipping bankers. “Despite Luxembourg But it has attracted criticism from some having grown a lot in the past many years, we opposition politicians and social commenta- have managed to keep its true character. I think tors. Veteran LSAP councillor Ben Fayot, wary this is in part because we’ve always made it our

Gentrification

75,605

1992

81,659

2002

mission to protect our historical heritage,” counters Polfer.

Preparatory work for the redevelopment of the Hamilius has already begun. Bus stops are being built on the opposite side of the boulevard Royal to accommodate buses while the demolition and construction take place. They will eventually make way for the tram, which has also had its fair share of controversy.

Indeed, back in the 1990s when Lydie Polfer was mayor she was opposed to the project.

She has since changed tack as her Democratic Party has entered two successive coalitions with the Greens, who fully support the tram and encourage alternative means of transport such as the bicycle. Even so, she remains somewhat sceptical. “What can I say about the tram, other than we will have to wait and see?

With lengthy discussions still continuing between the city and the state about who will pay for what, it’s very difficult to say what will happen and when. The most important thing for me is DECEMBER 2012

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2012

(Oct. 23)

15 28/11/12 1:14 PM

Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands

CURRENT AFFAIRS

TRAM PROJECT Could have an immediate impact

that we can propose a consistent and effective system to solve our traffic problems. That also means including Kirchberg in the first phase of the tram project, for example.”

Schulz, however, cannot wait for the tram to begin operation. “The tram is immensely important for the future of Luxembourg City but also for the whole region, the immediate impact being of course less bus traffic, less congestion, less pollution… In every city where the tram has been introduced there has been the same type of discussions as those we see here in Luxembourg. And in every city, people are always happy once the tram is up and running.

Nobody ever learns.”

But one thing that Luxembourg has learned is social cohesion despite a growing multiculturalism, says Polfer. “Whilst living in diversity, we have managed to develop an incredible cohabitation, without creating tension.” Schulz agrees, but worries that failure to meet future challenges could affect the status quo. “One of the biggest challenges in the years to come will be avoiding social tension. Social peace was guaranteed in Luxembourg as long as people here were well off. But with the ongoing economic crisis tensions are predictable. There is a possibility that the indigenous population will

16 12-16_current_affairs.indd 16

"WE WERE FULLY AWARE OF THE POPULATION INCREASE TO COME AND PLANNED ACCORDINGLY" LYDIE POLFER

become resentful faced with housing and social policies that doesn’t include them like they feel they should. The local population knows that Luxembourg owes a lot in financial terms to the immigrant population and activity and is generally very open to foreigners. But my fear is that this attitude will change.”

While acknowledging that danger, Polfer is more optimistic. She says the ultimate goal must be to see that Luxembourg continues to develop in harmony on all levels. “So that everyone, no matter age or origin, can find an answer to his or her expectations. Keeping our multicultural society together to ensure that we all grow as one is essential.”

DECEMBER 2012

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CURRENT AFFAIRS

Alex Wandels

“THE SHOP IS NOT CLOSING” The head of the European air traffic training centre in Luxembourg talks to Delano about the institute’s evolving mission and how Brussels wants to make flying faster and cheaper.

Text by Aaron Grunwald Photography by Olivier Minaire

AG: You are not shutting down, are you?

AW: We do get calls from people asking, ‘is it true that you’re stopping?’, because they’ve heard that we’re stopping the training for Maastricht and they think it’s the whole shop that is closing.

ALEX WANDELS New European rules have created new training opportunities

CHANGE IN COURSE

This month the last class ever of air traffic control students will graduate from the 40 year old Institute of Air Navigation Services in Kirchberg, which is part of Eurocontrol, the European air navigation service. Yet the number of the centre’s trainees will hardly diminish thanks to the European Commission’s new “Single European Sky” rules that take effect in 2014 and will cover at least 40 countries. Alex Wandels, the institute’s chief since May and a former air traffic control planner at the Belgian Air Force, spoke to Delano about the centre’s evolving mission.

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AG: So what is changing?

AW: From today onwards, we will re-enforce the air traffic management side of the business, because the air traffic control training is stopping. In the future this will be done in the French national administration school in Toulouse.

AG: What is the difference between ‘control’ and ‘management’?

AW: Everything that goes around air traffic control--communication, navigation, surveillance, airspace design tools, team resource management--all these things that are not directly air traffic control but are linked to it, is called air traffic management.

AG: Will this change in course reduce the number of students in Luxembourg?

AW: This year we will train 3,382 students in classrooms. The air traffic control training for Maastricht this year was eight people, [so] it doesn’t affect the numbers at all.

The shop is not closing because we did a bad job, but because we wanted to set a good example, and say look, we don’t think 41 air traffic control schools are necessary in Europe, we can probably do with two or three, so we will be the first ones to draw back from that.

AG: But isn’t that that part of Eurocontrol’s mission?

AW: Eurocontrol started to be operational in 1963 and the big idea at that time was to unify the upper airspace of Europe [ed.: generally above 24,000 feet], to make it one big space controlled by three or four centres, rather than by national centres.

The Maastricht centre is the only example that succeeded, and that covers the upper airspace of Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the northern half of Germany. It is the best performing centre in terms of cost effectiveness and capacity in Europe.

AG: Does the training institute only have European students?

AW: There are five students from South Korea, we have Turks, Brazilians, Chinese. We are geared up and our course portfolio is made for Europe. There’s a lot of interest in other parts of the world to come and study how we do things.

AG: Can you give one simple example of how the European Commission’s “Single European Sky” initiative will make flying better?

AW: If you drive to Brussels, there are several ways to get there and you will probably go for the fastest route. Funnily enough in the air, that is not the case. Because the route charges--the cost of overflying a country--is different from one country to another. So some companies [fly] a longer route to avoid an expensive country. Others [say] punctuality is what matters and [will] fly the shortest route whatever the cost is.

AG: And SES will reduce these costs?

AW: They need to decrease [on average] more than 10 percent over two years.

AG: If not?

AW: If not, there will be infringement procedures launched against the states.

DECEMBER 2012

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BC+

CURRENT AFFAIRS

International education

EYE-OPENING EXPERIENCES A new book celebrates Europe’s most famous university exchange programme.

Text by Aaron Grunwald Photography by Jessica Theis

he 25th anniversary of Europe’s best known international student exchange programme is celebrated in a new book entitled The Erasmus Experience: 25 portraits from 25 years of success.

Since Erasmus launched in 1987 more than two million students have taken advantage of financial and organisation support to study language and culture in a European country different from their own.

The tome tells the tale of 25 former Erasmus students, who share memories of their formative times away from home. The book hopes to highlight the best aspects of the programme’s history as “told through the eyes of the students who experienced it.”

The students consist of native Luxembourgers who studied abroad, foreign students who came to Luxembourg, and--this being Luxembourg--Belgians, French, Lithuanians, Irish, Italians, Poles, and others who now live in the Grand Duchy. Former

Irish student John Cox tells of discovering the joys of Frankfurt’s “cellar of rats,” Belgian Jean-Marc Cloos explains how he became addicted to Denmark, and Lithuanian Justina Garielaityte recounts her first descent into the Grund.

Also among those profiled is Lucien Kerger, former vice president of the University of Luxembourg, who has recently been appointed Erasmus ambassador.

He says that what students participating in the programme “get is a piece of reality. They learn to deal with the difficulties and complexities of life in a European context. The ‘European idea’ is that of constantly renewed exchange in a collective effort to keep an open mind. That is why Erasmus is such a big success. It is less about geography than about overcoming the boundaries in the mind.”

The Erasumus Experience is published by Anefore, Luxembourg’s national agency for cross-border lifelong learning programmes, and Maison Moderne, which publishes Delano. www.anefore.lu www.maisonmoderne.lu

LUCIEN KERGER Erasmus is about reality

20

Anti-racism

MAKING LUXEMBOURG GATHERS SUPPORT

A new campaign promoting solidarity has received support from over 70 public institutions and private companies.

Launched by foreigners’ rights lobby group Asti, “Making Luxembourg” has caught the imagination of the public by allowing supporters of the campaign to personalise their own t-shirts or Facebook icons. Under the motto “solidarity instead of racism”, the campaign aims to encourage everyone who lives or works in the country, regardless of nationality, race or creed, to think of Luxembourg as theirs. Members who join the campaign can create their own slogan by filling in an on-line form with three descriptions divided into percentage figures that make up their personality--the fourth field remains the same, declaring the wearer to be “0% Rassist”. The total is then proudly “100% Lëtzebuerg”. www.makingluxembourg.lu

“I REFUTE THE IDEA THAT THESE RADARS WILL BE A SOURCE OF REVENUE FOR THE STATE” Claude Wiseler, the infrastructure minister, on the plan to install 13 automated speed control devices next year, in an interview with the daily L’Essentiel. He says “road safety safety” is the primary objective.

DECEMBER 2012

The Council of the European Union (archives)

T

of the cuse . antic” d. cause e. lle was (the result

ct of ks at

ng eviHarpes,

apped. nde-

atch

Secret service

JUNCKER MEETING ILLICITLY RECORDED As its involvement in the Bommeleeër affair is once again put under scrutiny, the secret service is at the centre of a new controversy surrounding recordings of the prime minister.

Text by Duncan Roberts

T

he former head of the Luxembourg secret service, Marco Mille, secretly recorded a conversation he had with prime minister JeanClaude Juncker in the spring of 2008, it was revealed last month. Mille, who left the service to work for Siemens in March 2010, had been appointed head of the SREL (Service de renseignement de l’État) in December 2003.

Juncker told RTL that he learned of the secret recording in the middle of 2009 and immediately reported the matter to the then head of the parliamentary commission on the secret service, Charles Goerens. The prime minister said he told Mille that there could be no excuse for making the recording and that it was unacceptable. The recording was apparently made with a microphone hidden in a watch.

Reporters immediately leaped upon the James Bond connotations of the affair, but Juncker dismissed what he called those “romantic” notions.

He said it was irrelevant how he learned of the recording and that no sensitive information could have been compromised.

Asked if he may have been secretly recorded more often, Juncker said that he had no reason to believe it was more than once; because once was more than enough. “I don’t suffer from paranoia,” he said when pressed on whether other recordings may have been made.

RTL later suggested it had information that subject of the conversation in the recording was the so-called Bommeleeër affair. Mille was talking with the prime minister about the series of bombings that took place in Luxembourg between April 1985 and March 1986 (the

The Council of the European Union

nd been

CURRENT AFFAIRS

JEAN-CLAUDE JUNCKER Dismissed “romantic” James Bond associations

"I DON’T SUFFER FROM PARANOIA" JEAN-CLAUDE JUNCKER

bombs targeted public buildings, private homes and offices and utilities including electricity pylons and installations and did not result in any injury of death). Indeed, the broadcaster says that Mille may have been informing Juncker of the existence of a disc with an encrypted telephone conversation the prime minister had with Grand Duke Henri--the Grand Duke’s brother, Jean, was the subject of speculation in the Bommeleeër affair after a witness claimed he had spotted the prince during the night of one of the bomb attacks at Findel airport.

Meanwhile, the parliamentary commission on the secret service, now headed by Green deputy François Bausch, has been hearing evidence

from the SREL’s current boss Patrick Heck regarding allegations that the former head of the Gendarmerie, Colonel Aloyse Harpes, had his phone tapped by the secret service at the height of the Bommeleeër campaign.

Heck told the commission that there was no evidence the colonel’s phone at the Gendarme headquarters in Diekirch had been tapped. But, Bausch told reporters, the secret service could not offer any guarantees that a splinter group within the SREL had not acted independently.

Heck also told the parliamentary commission that recording a conversation with the prime minister using a microphone in a watch would not have been possible.

DECEMBER 2012

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21 27/11/12 11:28 AM

CURRENT AFFAIRS

Miruna Tara-Lunga, Venera Vladoianu, Paul Schonenburg and Natalia Durus

Paul Schonenberg, Chinese ambassador Zeng Xianqi, British ambassador Alice Walpole and Roy Suhash

Holiday tradition

AMCHAM GIVES THANKS

Sabrina Charles, Barbara Brecko, Adrian Penoy and Sylvie Notarnicola

Thanksgiving was celebrated a day early by the American Chamber of Commerce for Luxembourg this year.

A gala dinner event on Wednesday November 21 in the stunning setting of the atrium at the Sofitel Kirchberg included a traditional Thanksgiving dinner of pumpkin soup, roast turkey and apple pie with pecan ice cream.

Amcham chairman and CEO Paul Schonenberg welcomed guests, who included the ambassadors of the United Kingdom and China as well as Amcham members and friends. Entertainment was provided by opera singer Helen Smith and surprise guest David Goldrake, who performed his famous three-ring illusion and stayed on to draw the tombola prizes. DR

Helen Smith gave a recital

Lynsey Blair, Craig Blair and Paula Correia

Photographed by Steve Eastwood

09_adresse_internet

Philippe Haquenne and Brigitte Radtke

David Goldrake, Alex Bottinelli and Dilek Ayaydin

Catherina Biver and Kajsa Lindgren

Sudhir Kohli, Julien Robert and Jess Bauldry

22

DECEMBER 2012

Jørgen Hansen

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Luc Deflorenne (archives)

BUSINESS E-BOOK DEAL?

€5.5 BILLION MORE Dexia group received a further €5.5 billion injection from the Belgian and French states, as the bank tries to recover from the euro crisis. Dexia has already sold most of its Grand Duchy holdings. Belgium, France and Luxembourg have put more than €10 billion in the bank since 2008.

FINALLY CONFIRMED

Communications minister François Biltgen presents the PwC Accelerator’s “Most Promising Company” award to StickyADStv’s Hervé Brunet during the 2012 LuxembourgGaming.com conference, with Lu-Cix’s Marco Houwen on left.

European ministers named Luxembourg’s central bank chief Yves Mersch to the European Central Bank’s executive council after months of political wrangling, overruling a thumbs down vote by the European Parliament. Mersch was originally nominated in July, but his confirmation was delayed by debates over gender equality in top EU posts and objections from Spain, who had a rival candidate.

EUROPE’S PHONE NUMBER STARTS WITH +49

AIRLINE RULES ON HOLD

US foreign policy guru Henry Kissinger once infamously said that when he wanted to “call Europe” he didn’t know which number to phone. Tim Geithner, the US treasury secretary, seems to have found several but apparently has Frankfurt on speed-dial, according to Jean Pisani-Ferry, director of Brussels-based economic think-tank Bruegel. An analysis of 30 months of calls and meetings during the euro zone crisis found that Geithner spoke with the head of the European Central Bank most frequently after IMF leaders. The Obama appointee talked with Berlin and Paris more than six times as often as with the Eurogroup of euro zone ministers, headed by Luxembourg’s prime minster, Jean-Claude Juncker.

Brussels is “stopping the clock” on its controversial plan to force foreign airlines to pay into Europe’s cap-andtrade system for CO2 emissions when they fly to or from the EU, says Connie Hedegaard, European climate change commissioner. Hedegaard warns the EU scheme will “automatically” continue in one year if international negotiations do “not deliver”.

The plan is unchanged for EU-based airlines.

Christophe Olinger

Apple and four publishers will reportedly strike a settlement with the European Commission this month, ending a year-old inquiry into alleged e-book price-fixing. The firms will drop “most favoured nation” deals which prevented competitors such as Amazon from offering lower prices.

DIGITAL AWARD

Tim Geithner’s calls and meetings (January 2010 to June 2012) with: 168 Euro area leaders total 114 IMF top 3 officials 58 European Central Bank chief 36 German finance minister Despite the sluggish economies in its major markets, satellite operator SES has seen a stellar revenue and profit boost. Revenue in the third quarter was up 8.7% over the same period last year.

CEO Romain Bausch says the firm has a €7.2 billion backlog in client orders.

24

32 French finance minister 19 UK finance minister 11 European monetary affairs commissioner 3 Eurogroup (collectively) 3 Jean-Claude Juncker (individually)

The Council of the European Union

SES GROWTH TAKES OFF

DECEMBER 2012

24-25_opener business_finalmaster.indd 24

28/11/12 2:19 PM

BUSINESS

LUXEMBOURG TO LOSE CROWN

The Grand Duchy will lose its place at the top of the GDP per capita tables within 50 years, dropping to fifth place behind Norway, the US, Switzerland and Australia, according to the OECD. The rich world think-tank reckons that France and Italy will also see relative declines, while countries such as Chile, China and the Czech Republic will see big comparative gains.

$ 110,559.30 $ 92,197.30

2060 - forecast

2060 forecast $ -110,559.30

2012 - estimate

2012 - estimate $ 47,994.50

$ 47,994.50 $ 43,094.10

Italy

Italy Chil e

2060$ -52,096.60 forecast

2012 - estimate

2012 - estimate $ 26,533.00

$ 26,533.00 $ 15,621.60

STEEL DOWNGRADE

Chi l e Gree c e

$ 51,566.00 $ 46,156.40 $ 15,621.60 $ 15,331.50

mzbeocuhr gR e p u b c L u x eC li

$ 84,$ 199.70 68,804.30 $ 68,704.10 $ 23,731.40

$ 68,804.30 $ 54,650.60 $ 23,731.40 $ 7,967.30

G r e e c eR u s s i a

$ 15,331.50 $ 15,331.50

$ 54,650.60 $ 59,157.30

$ 30,072.60

Bra z i l Ind i a

India

$ 46,1$56.40 36,518.10 $ 15,331.50 $ 10,524.10

"IF IT TAKES THREE MONTHS LONGER, IT’S NO PROBLEM"

$ 59,157.30

$ 7,967.30 $ 30,072.60

R u s s i aB r a z i l

$ 46,1$56.40 46,156.40

Fr a n c e

C h i n aFr a n c e

C z e c h R e p uCbhliinca

$ 36,518.10 $ 25,250.70 $ 10,524.10 $ 3,294.90

$ 25,250.70 $ 3,294.90

Finance minister Luc Frieden, on the need to formulate well-thoughtout rules, rather than meeting a fixed deadline, for the new single euro zone banking regulator to be based at the European Central Bank in Frankfurt.

HM Revenue & Customs / Creative Commons

Moody’s moved ArcelorMittal’s debt into “junk bond” territory after the steel giant reported lower Q3 earnings.

The credit ratings agency downgraded the steel giant’s score from “investment grade” Baa3 to “speculative grade” Ba1, which denotes “significant credit risk,” according to the agency.

Issuers are typically forced to pay higher interest rates to junk bond investors.

$ 92,1 $97.30 84,199.70 $ 43,094.10 $ 68,704.10

$ 52,096.60 $ 51,566.00

Charles Caratini (archives)

2060 - forecast

U n i t e d LSutxaet m e sb o u r g

The Council of the European Union (archives)

N o rUwnai yt e d S t a tes

No rwa y

The UK may have to reimburse up to £7 billion in “unlawfully levied” corporate tax following a ruling by the European Court of Justice. From 1973 to 1998 British tax agency HMRC treated profits from overseas subsidiaries differently than domestic dividends, the court says. Hearings next year will determine the exact amounts, and “there is currently no tax to be repaid,” notes a HMRC spokeswoman.

Olivier Minaire

REFUND TAX, SAYS ECJ

FIRST STONE FOR FREE PORT

Chamber of deputies speaker Laurent Mosar, economy minister Étienne Schneider, culture minister Octavie Modert and Niederanven mayor Raymond Weydert symbolically break ground on the new “free trade zone” at Findel airport.

DECEMBER 2012

24-25_opener business_finalmaster.indd 25

25 28/11/12 2:19 PM

BUSINESS

Marie-Josée Jacobs, Luxembourg’s international development minister, with Rolando Victoria and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa Banco FIE’s Olesya Paukova (left) and Kompanion’s Elisabeth Nava (second from left), the award’s top two runners-up

International development

€100,000 FOR FOOD SECURITY

Lucia Spaggiari

Four Luxembourg organisations have recognised a Philippine NGO for its innovative agricultural lending programmes.

ASKI received the 4th European Microfinance Award during a November ceremony at the European Investment Bank, with Grand Duchess Maria Teresa presenting the prize.

“To date almost 19,000 Philippine farmers are benefiting from these loans, which are making a valuable contribution to the needed food security initiatives of our country,” says Rolando Victoria, the NGO’s CEO. The European Microfinance Award-a cash grant of €100,000--is given every two years by Luxembourg’s ministry of foreign affairs, the EIB, and Luxembourg-based NGOs European Microfinance Platform and Luxembourg Round Table on Microfinance. AG

Rolando Victoria receives the 4th European Microfinance Award from Grand Duchess Maria Teresa Camille Thommes, Pit Hengen and Thomas Seale

Photographed by Charles Caratini

From left: Diana Cordes, Ada Scholz and Aigul Azhykulova

Professor Muhammad Yunus, president of the award jury and recipient of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, poses for a photo with Lory Camba Opem (left) and Maelis Carraro Julia Meyer and Heinz Dünser

26

DECEMBER 2012

BUSINESS

Aviation

QATAR TO QUIT CARGOLUX A major shareholder of Europe’s largest cargo air carrier plans to sell its stake after falling out with Luxembourg’s government.

Text by Aaron Grunwald

Q

CARGOLUX In a holding pattern

the 2011 bid for the stake to Qatar. The Cargolux spokeswoman tells Delano that “I cannot provide further information” about a potential buyer and the timing of the transaction.

Cargolux continues to bleed red ink and reportedly needs more than a 500 million euro capital injection. Qatar had potentially been willing to stump up the cash, but in exchange it had wanted Cargolux to dramatically reduce its fleet and eliminate more than 400 jobs by outsourcing all of its maintenance and some of its flight crews. Industry analysts observed that the Grand Duchy’s government could not support the moves, given the political costs involved, not to mention Luxembourg’s goal of building Findel Airport into a heavy-weight global logistics hub.

Organised labour praised Qatar’s pull-out as a victory for its “resistance” to the Doha-based carrier. “The OGBL led a campaign to prevent a takeover and the potential loss of thousands of jobs,” says the trade union’s press office.

At press time, HNA, Qatar Airways and Volga-Dnepr had not returned Delano’s messages seeking comment.

Fred Humblet (archives)

atar Airways will sell its more than onethird share of the Grand Duchy-based all freight airline Cargolux after failing to agree on the carrier’s future strategy. “I confirm that Qatar Airways has declared its intention to dispose of its 35 percent stake in Cargolux as well as differences over the airline’s future direction,” a spokeswoman for Europe’s largest air freight firm tells Delano.

Qatar only bought the stake last summer from the Luxembourg government, which still indirectly owns the majority of Cargolux shares. Disagreements between the Middle Eastern carrier and the Grand Duchy’s government about how to stem the carrier’s losses have emerged in recent months, and the gap between the two parties reportedly came to a head during a November board meeting.

“The Luxembourg and Qatari shareholders disagreed on the future strategic orientation of the airline, which led to Qatar’s decision to pull out of Cargolux,” the Cargolux spokeswoman says.

According to Swiss industry website ch-aviation.ch, “the two parties could apparently not agree on a CEO that would lead Cargolux going forward.”

CFO Richard Forson has been interim chief executive since August, when former CEO Frank Reimen left to take a government post.

Forson was previously Qatar’s CFO, which analysts say leaves his future in the Grand Duchy in question.

Current speculation also runs that Luxembourg’s government is speaking with VolgaDnepr Airlines about taking over Qatar’s position. The Russian firm operates AirBridge Cargo and owns 49 percent of Air Cargo Germany, “which both have a similar business model as Cargolux,” ch-aviation reports. Another potential acquirer is China’s HNA Group, which lost

"LUXEMBOURG AND QATARI SHAREHOLDERS DISAGREED" CARGOLUX SPOKESWOMAN

DECEMBER 2012

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27 28/11/12 12:40 PM

BUSINESS

Risk management

HIDDEN ASSETS

In Luxembourg, the phrase “risk management” often evokes images of regulatory compliance in the financial services sector, which requires expensive computer systems and reams of official filings. Yet risk management is a burgeoning concept in the non-financial world, and is as much about thought process as electronic firepower. Across industries, firms are finding that it is not enough to take a checklist approach. Risk is not lessened because you have ticked a box, experts say. Rather businesses are discovering that a bit of self-reflection, creative thinking and adaption of best practices can help turn “risk” into a valuable competitive advantage.

Text by Aaron Grunwald Photography by Steve Eastwood

28 28-32_business.indd 28

DECEMBER 2012

28/11/12 12:53 PM

BUSINESS

NATHALIE DUCHESNE Identify negative and positive risks

“I

n Europe, risk is a taboo,” says Nathalie Duchesne, head of Luxembourg-based risk management consultancy Kinua. Financial services firms “know a lot about risk management because it is mandatory for them. This is not yet the case in industry and other businesses.

In a way, they are discovering this concept, so this is a challenge for us to make them recognise the benefits of risk management.”

She founded Kinua--which focuses on nonfinancial companies with 100 or more employees--earlier this year and already has staff in Belgium, France and the UK. One of her central services is to undertake a deep-dive audit into client companies and ultimately create a “risk map” that encompasses “all the risks the company faces, positive and negative.” A competitor going out of business, for example, is an opportunity to gain new customers, but also presents the challenge of projecting stability in a turbulent market.

Energy firm Enovos, for example, has engaged Kinua to “boost the risk culture” in 2013. “I want people in the company to speak freely about risks,” Duchesne explains. “I want the taboo about risks to disappear. Risks need to be known to be well managed, and this will allow top management to take the right decisions in the face of uncertainty.”

Larger industrial firms can afford to take such programmes in-house. “Our risk universe includes more sources of risks than the financial industry,” explains Patrick Claude, head of corporate risk management at ArcelorMittal.

He stresses that “risk management is not an independent function; it is a core activity of line management.”

In addition to compliance with government regulations, ArcelorMittal’s approach is meant to help managers address “uncertainties in deci-

RISKY BUSINESS

sion making processes” and “pre-empt potential risks at an early stage.” He says it helps “us to recognise that we are exposed to uncertainty, to optimise the risks and the mitigation plans, and to emphasise that risk is everyone’s responsibility from ArcelorMittal board of directors to line management.”

In 2009, the steel giant created a risk management committee on its board of directors and a counterpart committee for its executive team, explains Claude. “Occupational health and safety is the first one of our strategic priorities. Any meeting chaired by a member of our group management board always starts with safety.”

The publicly held firm also publishes its top risks as part of its regular financial filings. “As any other company we manage to retain only the risks for which we believe we can capture the upside, while mitigating the downside,” he states. “We take into account risks that can affect our business and our stakeholders, including those associated with environmental, social and ethical issues.”

The 4th edition of the ALFI & ALRIM Risk Management conference will take place on April 17, 2013 at the Chamber of Commerce in Kirchberg. While the programme will be announced next year, the event typically features comprehensive snapshots of the most pressing risk management topics. No doubt the EU’s forthcoming new rules covering funds for savvy investors, called the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive, will figure on the agenda. www.alfi.lu

DECEMBER 2012

29

BUSINESS

YVES DE NAUROIS Best practices are key

“What you’re talking about is best practice as opposed to regulation,” says Yves de Naurois, managing director of IRML, a risk compliance consultancy and risk management outsourcing provider in the funds sector. “Best practice very often precedes regulations, and probably the best kind of regulations we can have codifies best practice.”

Indeed, regulation is nearly always retrospective and rarely forward looking, notes Thierry López, a partner at PwC who works with Luxembourg financial institutions. For example, today banks around the world are implementing Basel III capital requirements, which were agreed by political leaders at the outset of the global economic crisis. That means the rules “are based on the status of the crisis in 2008, not in 2012. So there is an anachronism between what banks should implement and the nature of the crisis they are facing today” which has evolved from a US mortgage-backed securities to a sovereign debt crisis. Merely following the rules brings a false sense of security, he reckons. On the other hand, “when you touch best practices, it means you are independent from that potential for anachronisms coming from regulations, because you have better means to manage your risk.”

30 28-32_business.indd 30

“I see it a lot,” Aristides Protopapadakis, CEO of risk management software and services provider Systemic, says of the tick-the-box approach to financial sector compliance. “Risk has a tendency, unfortunately, to just become a comparison with pre-defined limits,” which he stresses “is not the case.”

In Protopapadakis’ view, failures occur when people think “they’re doing everything they should, but they have not been creative about it.

Risk management is about questioning, about saying ‘I’m not happy with my model, I’m not happy with my system, what if this happens, what if that happens.’ That’s the kind of thinking that’s needed for risk management and I don’t see it as much as I would like.”

His 13 year-old Luxembourg firm has about one million euro in annual turnover, and employs 32, including at its development centre in Greece and offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and Switzerland.

Systemic’s software is naturally designed to keep managers on the right side of the regulator, but Protopapadakis estimates that about one in three clients asks for a more proactive solution after six months. This is often driven by small and mid-sized funds’ presentation to potential clients. “They know that investors,

“I DON’T SEE IT AS MUCH AS I WOULD LIKE” ARISTIDES PROTOPAPADAKIS

DECEMBER 2012

28/11/12 12:53 PM

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28/11/12 09:55 12:15 27/11/12

BUSINESS

GUY BRANDENBOURGER Better to ask questions sooner than later

THIERRY LÓPEZ Regulations are retrospective

even less sophisticated investors, want to see real risk management,” and not a checklist.

For de Naurois, a good risk management programme is not only about running the numbers, but rather about “setting the expectation of where we expect the portfolio to be and finding ways to see if the portfolio is where we expected to be.”

Recently IRML helped a US value fund that was buying shares at such a deep discount that it was raising investors’ and regulators’ eyebrows. “What was interesting was to show and to prove the track record and volatility was much better than the index, despite the fact they were buying small caps. We actually showed on a regular basis that if we quantified the processes of this firm, when correctly applied it generated much better returns than the market overall.”

With the worlds of art and finance increasingly converging, earlier this year one of the big four consultancies launched a specialised

32 28-32_business.indd 32

“forensic art” practice in Luxembourg. “We are thinking about private equity funds investing in art as a ‘commodity’ or art pieces being used as collateral for loans,” explains Nicolas Marinier, senior manager of forensic and anti-money laundering services at Deloitte, citing some of its potential client bases.

“This is about turning risk into an asset; this is the whole philosophy of it,” says Marinier. He means that market players with a risk management regime can instil more confidence than competitors without one. If an art dealer implements fraud procedures and controls, for example, they can “prove to the bank that I’m not the bad guy. This is exactly turning a risk into an asset.”

Even “if you don’t have a legal obligation [to institute a risk management programme] but you see the winds [changing], you might want to be one of the first users to do it.” He argues that it is important to present yourself externally

“as not the devil. There’s a legal part but there’s a commercial part, turning risk into a benefit.”

Guy Brandenbourger, a partner at consultancy PwC who advises industrial and public sector clients, reckons that “CEOs and CFOs who take into account risk management, the ones who think that risk management brings value to the organisation, those are the people who will be successful in the coming years. I’m pretty sure of that, because they’re asking themselves some key questions, they are identifying the key risks they could face, and they are implementing some specific procedures and processes in order to address those risks.” He concludes that managers who do not exercise some measure of self-analysis “will face, at one time or another, some specific difficulties. And in these times of uncertainty, those that are questioning themselves, let’s say they will be the ones who will be in a good position during crisis times.”

DECEMBER 2012

28/11/12 1:05 PM

61, rue de Strasbourg L-2561 Luxembourg T. +352 40 39 910

Language learning at work

TONGUE TIPS

“Leave the radio on during your working day as it helps you get familiar to hearing the language all the time, even when you’re not actually listening,” suggests Languages.lu’s Clara Moraru. “I know not everyone can concentrate with radio in the background, but for those who can, it really works.”

Illustration: Maison Moderne, Cassandre Bourtembourg

LISTEN TO RADIO

Is improving a foreign language one of your resolutions for the new year? Delano asks three experts how you can learn at work, without worrying the boss.

STEP BY STEP Try including a few lines in the new language in emails to native speakers, Moraru recommends. “At the beginning it can be salutations; then some other words related to your work or office, then a full phr ase. You can make progress slowly but surely!”

34

DECEMBER 2012

Whether it is starting from scratch or finetuning your proficiency, learning a second language is hard work and it is often hard to find the time. The trick is to take advantage of the resources in your office to build up the use of the “target language” in everyday life, according to three of Luxembourg’s main language training centres.

With a bit of effort, you can slowly but surely use your native speaking colleagues, the existing materials at work and the latest (and not so latest) technology to master another tongue, they say.

And instead of diving straight out of your comfort zone, start with what you already know and go from there, the experts suggest.

The experts also have some ideas to motivate Delano readers outside of the office: Languages.lu (www.languages.lu) organises

the annual Fête des Langues & Cultures, which next year will be held April 18 to 20 at Luxexpo. The language festival features more than 100 exhibitors from more than 20 countries--of interest to both adult and children learners--including schools and training centres; cultural, media and linguistic tourism organisations; and translation service providers and software vendors.

Berlitz (www.berlitz.lu) offers a 20 percent discount on individual and group tuition for its “Happy Hour” courses, which take place weekdays between 2 and 5 p.m. The offer expires December 31, but classes can be taken in 2013.

Prolingua (www.prolingua.lu) offers a 50 euro discount on its courses which run from January 28 through April 19, 2013, to anyone who brings this article with them during enrolment. AG

READ AT WORK “Most companies in Luxembourg have documentation, websites, newsletters and newspapers available in different languages,” notes Hatfield.

“Read the version in the language you’re trying to learn.” He adds: “It’s not necessary to reach for the dictionary every time you come across a new word, you’ll often be able to guess the meaning from the context.”

DON’T BE AFRAID “The purpose of a language is to communicate messages,” explains Prolingua’s Neil Hatfield. “If you don’t say anything, you won’t make any mistakes, but you won’t communicate any messages either. People who are not afraid of making mistakes learn languages more quickly than others.”

BLENDED LEARNING Consider a combination of phone lessons and “cyber teachers,” says Artur Sosna of Berlitz.

Phone teachers can help with “specific job requirements but also for general language learning process,” while online lessons aid with specialised vocabulary for your sector, cultural tips and writing.

december 2012

35

BUSINESS

Economy

NEW EU-US TRADE DEAL IN THE WORKS Following America’s election, transatlantic trade rules--touching on everything from farming to financial services--are likely to see a major refresh, says a European commissioner.

Text by Aaron Grunwald

russels and Washington have had preliminary discussions regarding a “comprehensive” EU-US trade accord, and with the re-election of president Obama official negotiations could begin early next year, Karel De Gucht, European trade commissioner, said in November.

“There is now, for the first time in years, a serious drive towards an EU-US free trade agreement,” De Gucht said in a speech at the European Liberal Democrats Congress in Dublin.

“We know what is at stake and what we can do about it. Now it is time to act.”

“Comprehensive trade liberalisation across the Atlantic would help us put our [economic] recovery on an even sounder footing,” he argued in the address.

Belgium’s former foreign minister and former trade minister noted that today the EU and US account for half of the world’s GDP and nearly one-third of global trade flows, with about two billion euro worth of goods and services crossing the Atlantic each day.

“And yet, we cannot take this partnership for granted.”

De Gucht explained that the EU and US established a working group last November, which he and US trade representative Ron Kirk have jointly led. Earlier this year the working group issued a report which concluded “that a comprehensive agreement would provide the most significant benefit of the various options considered, one that addresses a broad range of bilateral trade and investment issues.”

In the commissioner’s view, the proposed package should significantly liberalise the services sector, allowing much more cross-border competition and going “beyond what each of us has already done in other trade agreements.”

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DECEMBER 2012

The Council of the European Union (archives)

B

KAREL DE GUCHT With the US election results in, trade talks are set to proceed

In addition, De Gucht aims to remove the vast majority of “all duties on transatlantic trade in industrial and agricultural goods” and put public procurement on a near level playing field. His ideal pact also “would include a mechanism for addressing our regulatory differences on both food and non-food products.”

With an Obama administration continuing in the White House, De Gucht said he was optimistic that the talks would now proceed in earnest. “Although no political decision has yet been reached to launch negotiations, the process has clearly moved in that direction. We are now working hard with our US colleagues, drafting the requested final report before the end of the year, after which I hope we can launch talks on an FTA as soon as possible.”

Admitting the tough political challenge of selling such a deal to EU citizens, De Gucht told the pan-EU liberal democrat party conference: “I believe we should convince people in Europe that a deepening of trade relations with the US is to our benefit, despite the sacrifices any compromise entails.”.

"WE CANNOT TAKE THIS PARTNERSHIP FOR GRANTED" KAREL DE GUCHT

LANGUAGE CAMPS 2013 IN LUXEMBOURG

NEW!

Junior Acade

my

Language: French, German and English Age range: 7-17 years old Period: Spring, Summer and Autumn 2013 Our language camps offer a perfect combination of learning a language through communication, and participating in various recreational, cultural, sporting and creative workshops. Children have fun and practice a new learnt language. Using the language is at the center of all activities! Our motto is „Learning by speaking“.

Dates: 31.03.13 – 06.04.13 French Camp (Vianden)

04.08.13 – 10.08.13 German Camp (Schengen)

21.07.13 – 27.07.13 French Camp (Lultzhausen)

11.08.13 – 17.08.13 French Camp (Schengen)

28.07.13 – 03.08.13 English Camp (Echternach)

27.10.13 – 02.11.13 French Camp (Echternach)

28.07.13 – 03.08.13 French Camp (Lultzhausen)

28.07.13 – 03.08.13 New 2013: „Junior Academy“ Soft-Skills- and language training (everything in English)

04.08.13 – 10.08.13 French Camp (Lultzhausen)

Berlitz Luxemburg Tel. +352 26 38 32 48, 89–93, Grand-Rue, 1661 Luxemburg, kids@berlitz.lu, www.berlitz.lu

BUSINESS

Economy

DELOITTE: DOUBLE DIGIT DIP IN YEAR-END SPENDING Luxembourg residents intend to spend 12 percent less on the holidays than last year, a major consulting firm and business trade group say.

Text by Aaron Grunwald Photography by Steve Eastwood

L

uxembourg households have a planned budget of 815 euro for holiday festivities and gifts, according to Deloitte’s 15th annual consumer survey, which in the Grand Duchy was conducted for the first time with the Confédération Luxembourgeoise du Commerce.

That is down from more than 900 euro last year and from 1,200 euro in 2010.

Overall, the Grand Duchy has the third highest expected budget among the 18 countries covered in Europe and South Africa, behind first-placed Ireland (966 euro) and Switzerland (817 euro). Nevertheless, 20 percent of Luxembourg survey-takers say they plan to “buy less expensive gifts this year,” the organisations report. “Consumers are weighing their purchase decisions more carefully and price is becoming an increasingly important factor in the year-end expenditure decisions,” says Georges Kioes, a partner at Deloitte in Luxembourg. “Although there is still a strong desire to enjoy year-end festivities, consumers are being careful about how they spend their money.”

More than half of respondents in the Grand Duchy have “a more negative impression of the economic future” and “79 percent of the Luxembourg consumers think that their spending power will be stable or deteriorate in 2013,” according to the report.

Deloitte notes that economic pessimism also rose in Poland, the Czech Republic, Spain, South Africa and Slovakia. On the other hand, respondents in Belgium, France and Germany were less pessimistic than last year, “as well as, surprisingly, in Greece, Italy and Portugal.”

The study also finds that Luxembourg residents aim to finish their holiday shopping earlier than in recent years. Sixty-one percent hope to wrap up their gift list by December 15, while in 2011 and 2010 the majority of purchases were made between December 15 and 24.

RETAILERS Hoping for healthy holiday figures

BETTER TO GIVE OR RECEIVE? There is a “mismatch, which will certainly lead to some disappointment” when the wrapping paper flies, according to Deloitte Luxembourg and the Confédération Luxembourgeoise du Commerce.

While approximately 20% said they hoped to receive electronics such as smartphones and tablets, “only 2% to 5% intend to offer” such gifts.

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DECEMBER 2012

THE MOST “DESIRED” ITEM ON LUXEMBOURG RESIDENTS’ WISH LISTS: 45% Money 38% Travel 34% Books

THE MOST POPULAR PRESENTS LUXEMBOURG INHABITANTS PLAN TO GIVE: 41% Books 28% Cosmetics and perfume

BUSINESS

Euro zone

EIB CRITIQUED OVER GREECE

The EU’s Luxembourg-based economic development bank has been accused by Brussels of “dragging its feet” on dispersing funds meant to help revive the Greek economy.

Text by Aaron Grunwald

A

Council of the European Union (archives)

JOHANNES HAHN Unhappy with the pace of Greek loans

bout two billion euro in EU development funds for Greece administered by the Kirchberg-based European Investment Bank “is likely to be delayed until 2013,” reports the Financial Times.

The two funds, meant as a lifeline for Greece’s economy, come from the European Commission and the EIB, but are dispersed via the EIB and the Greek government. One fund focuses on small and medium-sized enterprises, which have been cut-off from normal bank lending as a result of the euro zone crisis, while the second aims to un-freeze energy, transport and educational facility projects halted under Greece’s austerity budget.

But the European commissioner for regional development claims the EIB is “dragging its feet” in an interview with the FT. Johannes Hahn “accused the EIB of being overly concerned about protecting its triple A credit rating,” according to the financial daily. “I’m not quite happy that it has taken such a long time,” the commissioner is quoted as saying. “It could be faster and it should be faster.”

The interview continues: “We have a crisis. We can’t organise our fire brigade and make trainings in the laboratory. We have to extinguish the fire.”

The newspaper also cites Costas Mihalos, president of the Athens Chamber of Commerce, saying the EIB has been “deliberately holding back in order to protect its balance sheet.”

In response, the EIB says more progress on the two special Greek funds has been made than the FT article reveals, and that the newspaper’s figures do not completely add up.

“It is correct that the disbursements have not yet started but we are confident that we will disburse at least 700 million euro still before the end of the year,” an EIB spokeswoman tells Delano. “The delay was due to technical challenges.”

“WE WILL DISBURSE AT LEAST 700 MILION EURO” EIB SPOKESWOMAN

In March, the EIB, European Commission and Greece’s finance ministry announced the first fund would “guarantee EIB loans to SMEs via partner banks in Greece totalling up to one billion euro.”

Then in September, the three organisations launched a second fund to “facilitate up to 750 million euro of new EIB funding in Greece,” to support infrastructure projects, which the EIB’s chief, Werner Hoyer, said at the time is “crucial” in the effort to “overcome the crisis.”

The EIB employs about 2,000 staff and issues between 40 and 60 billion euro in loans annually. Although the bank raises its own capital-to fund infrastructure projects in line with Brussels’ policy objectives--it is backed by EU member states.

It has top-notch AAA credit scores from the three largest global ratings agencies, which Fitch re-iterated in September and Moody’s reconfirmed in August of this year. Large losses in its loan portfolio could potentially lower its credit rating and thus drive up the interest rates the bank pays.

DECEMBER 2012

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BUSINESS

Fiduciaries

SOUND PLANNING Despite the current clampdown on “alternative” investment funds and the coming crackdown on cross-border “tax havens”, corporate services providers are cautiously optimistic about their future in Luxembourg.

Text by Aaron Grunwald Photography by Olivier Minaire

C

ross-border corporate tax practices and “alternative” investment funds are both under fire and Luxembourg is one of the main targets. Yet many who provide behind the scenes services believe they are part of the solution. Fiduciaries--who represent nearly one percent of the Grand Duchy’s GDP and are experiencing healthy growth--have come out in favour of clearer rules, but warn against crushing the goose that laid Luxembourg’s golden egg.

In recent weeks the likes of Amazon, Google and Starbucks have been the focus of “tax avoidance” hearings in the British parliament, with MPs accusing the companies of funnelling revenue through holding companies in lower tax jurisdictions, such as Luxembourg and Ireland, to cut their tax bills, and pledging to change fiscal rules to make such manoeuvres more difficult.

Meanwhile, the French government has hit Amazon, which has its EU hub in the Grand Duchy, with a claim for 252 million dollars in back taxes and fines for the practice, and Google’s CEO hopes to resolve a billion euro dispute with French authorities by the end of the year.

The French, German and US governments, the European Commission, and the G20 group of leading global economies all say they are looking at ways to tighten cross-border tax loopholes.

The “corporate structures” in question are not limited to multinational firms: they are commonly used by wealthy families and by alternative investment funds, which are meant for professional money managers as

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DECEMBER 2012

PAOLO PANICO New fund rules make Luxembourg more attractive

opposed to retail investors. Although not often in the public eye, “corporate services” providers are at the heart of the debate.

Broadly speaking, these are the trustees that set up holding companies and investment funds and then ensure they are properly run, from an accounting, legal and tax perspective.

Impact in Luxembourg While cross-border regulations and multilateral tax regimes may generate abstract outrage in some countries, it has a down to earth impact in Kirchberg. The corporate services “sector employs around 2,400 people and generates an estimated annual turnover of 450 million euro, making it one of the cornerstones of the Luxembourg financial sector and attracting many international investors to the Grand Duchy,” according to Carlo Schlesser, co-CEO of fiduciary SGG. Schlesser’s comments came in a report issued by the trade group Luxembourg International Management Services

"ONE OF THE CORNERSTONES OF THE LUXEMBOURG FINANCIAL SECTOR" CARLO SCHLESSER

BUSINESS

DELOITTE Finds optimism in the corporate services sector

Association and consulting firm Deloitte in November.

The sector has been growing by about 14 percent annually since 2007, the study says (see box on right for more figures).

Despite the global economic crisis and the corporate tax whirlwind, “trust and corporate services providers are confident about the future of the industry,” LIMSA and Deloitte say.

Indeed, “the majority of those surveyed thought the trust and corporate services industry would grow over the next 12 months” and “around 60 percent said they expected to recruit over the next 12 months.”

What’s driving the optimism? More regulation.

Brussels’ new set of rules for professional investors, called the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive,“is considered by many trust and corporate services providers as a potentially significant opportunity for Luxembourg as it forces many financial institutions to reconsider their preferred jurisdiction and organisational structure,” according to the LIMSA and Deloitte report.

Among other rules being transposed into Luxembourg law, AIFMD requires hedge, private equity and real estate funds to establish and get regulatory buy-in for a host of new operational functions which alternatives managers generally have limited, or even no, experience in. But fiduciaries already know the rules, because they are similar to established safeguards for UCITS mutual funds.

“The new legislation will enable them to apply for a specific licence and provide their professional services to the fund industry,” notes Paolo Panico, chair and managing director of Private Trustees.

Yet Panico is not in favour of all of Luxembourg’s legislative agenda. He opposes “the proposed increase of the minimum tax payable

by Soparfis [a type of investment structure popular with private equity and real estate funds, and for intellectual property holdings] from 1,500 to 3,000 euro that appears to have been included in the budget for 2013.”

“I fear that this measure, if it were approved, could significantly prejudice Luxembourg’s competitiveness as a corporate centre. When a foreign investor compares the relative costs and benefits of Luxembourg and some competing jurisdictions--the UK, Netherlands, Austria, Cyprus--a fixed tax levy of 3,000 euro per annum could be a clear disadvantage for Luxembourg.”

He concludes that: “the government should understand this and remove such a provision [ from the bill] that may even trigger the transfer of many Luxembourg holding companies to some more tax friendly jurisdictions.”

SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTOR

The fiduciary sector makes a notable contribution to the Grand Duchy’s economy, according to a recent study by the trade group LIMSA and consulting firm Deloitte.

Trust and corporate services providers: 330 Investment and holding companies: 43,000 Employees in fiduciary sector: 2,400 Added value to the economy: €360 million, about 0.9% of Luxembourg’s GDP Total tax receipts generated for the Luxembourg state in 2011: €630 million

DECEMBER 2012

41

THINK LOCAL

Finnish

“YOU’RE NOT CONSTRAINED

BY THE BORDERS” Second time resident Liina Munari gives her insight into living and working in the Grand Duchy.

Text by Aaron Grunwald Photography by Olivier Minaire

Helsinki native Liina Munari first moved to Luxembourg in 1997 after studies in the Finnish capital, southern Holland, Brussels, Leuven and Bruges. She and her Italian husband returned from Brussels five years ago. Today she works as a project officer at an EU institution and has two small children.

LIINA MUNARI Forget about the smallness

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DECEMBER 2012

AG: What brought you to Luxembourg?

LM: [After] I graduated, I went for three months to Finland and said, ‘I don’t want to go back’. I left Finland to go somewhere and I came [to Luxembourg] for a position in one of the European institutions. I was actually a bit surprised, like most people who come to Luxembourg, that there is something going on in Luxembourg.

AG: Why did you leave and then return?

LM: At 26 years old I suddenly found [myself] here. Then most people have this idea, ‘I want to be part of Brussels’. I went there for a few years. But at the time I already had a husband, I was pregnant, and we decided that Luxembourg is actually serving much better our purposes as a family than Brussels would have been.

AG: What do you speak at home?

LM: Most parents want their children to learn a lot of languages, but here the parents want to focus the languages of the children into a certain manageable bouquet. So we have English, Finnish and Italian at home, and the language skills of the kids go in that order.

AG: And with your husband?

LM: English [which was] our first common language. Then I learned Italian; he will never learn Finnish.

AG: Do you think that you’ll move to Finland or Italy some day?

LM: The most probable next step would not be Italy or Finland, but someplace which is new for both.

Often it’s the couples of the same nationality who decide to go back at a certain critical moment of life.

At this stage we probably wouldn’t choose to go to Finland or Italy because it would be appropriating

the nationality of the other. We met here. This is neutral ground for us.

It’s the natural place for us to be.

AG: What do you miss about the holidays in Finland?

LM: Everything! The whole Christmas!

There is no other Christmas than the Finnish Christmas. It’s the whole thing. As you know Father Christmas comes from Finland, so we have a hard time explaining to the kids how he can come over with the sleigh when there’s no snow.

AG: Is there any way to help re-create the atmosphere?

LM: Being Finnish in Luxembourg there is this wonderful service, [where a fellow Finnish expat] provides you with the firewood [imported] from Finland.

AG: The wood really is that different?

LM: For the Finns, the wood is different! It’s birch.

AG: Any advice for newcomers?

LM: I think that for any expat, you should think that Luxembourg is not a country and it’s not a city. If you start thinking about how small the country is, you get lost. You should just think of it as some sort of extension of a place. Because that is what is blocking a lot of people’s minds, [thinking] you live in a country and a city, and this is a very provocative thing to say in Luxembourg. But I think it’s also a sense of being Luxembourgish as well, and living in Luxembourg that you realise that you’re not constrained by the borders. And you’re not constrained by cultural borders and the physical borders.

Forget about the smallness and forget about the borders. That’s probably what a true EU civil servant should say.

AGENDA

TEN EVENTS

Delano presents a selection of the next two months of business and networking events for Luxembourg’s international community. Advance registration or fees may be required, so consult the website indicated for full details.

All events are held in English unless otherwise noted.

Chamber of Commerce

Sacred Heart Univ.

Alfi

www.alfi.lu

www.paperJam.lu

www.shu.lu

THU 17

www.inspiringwo-men.eu

JANUARY

THU 24

STILL STEEL?

TUE 11

DECEMBER

WED 12

LEVEL 2

DECEMBER

This “Leading Edge” conference covers the forthcoming technical regulations that are part of the EU’s “alternative” investment funds directive, including the controversial new delegation and depository rules.

RBC Investor Services, Esch-Belval, all day event

BIG NAMES

Toastmasters

Sacred Heart Univ.

Delano’s francophone sister publication paperJam announces its list of the 100 most influential economic figures in Luxembourg. Will Deutsche Bank’s Ernst Wilhelm Contzen keep his top slot in the ranking’s fourth edition?

Cercle Cité, Luxembourg-Centre, 18:00

www.shu.lu

www.district59.eu

ArcelorMittal CEO Michel Wurth looks at the past, present and future of Luxembourg’s steel industry, which once dominated the nation’s economic and political landscape, and the influence it has had on the EU. ArcelorMittal, Luxembourg-Gare, 18:00

Inspiring Wo-Men and the Chamber of Commerce host the 1st “European Forum on Best Practices in Gender Equality” conference, with presentations from, among others, Bank of New York Mellon Luxembourg.

Chamber of Commerce, Luxembourg-Kirchberg, 09:00-21:00

British Chamber

Amcham

www.bcc.lu

www.amcham.lu

WED 23

JANUARY

MON 4

DECEMBER

PUBLIC SPEAKING

Toastmasters is dedicated to helping members build communication and leadership skills. No need to be a native English speaker. The “Casemates Communicators” group meets the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month.

Chambre des salariés, Luxembourg-Gare, 19:30

THU 13

DECEMBER

EUROPE’S GO-BETWEEN

Former Luxembourg prime minister and European Commission chief Jacques Santer explains why the Grand Duchy is home to so many EU institutions, and the country’s role brokering agreements between Europe’s big states.

European Commission, Jean Monnet Building, Luxembourg-Kirchberg, 18:00

British Chamber www.bcc.lu

FRI 14

DECEMBER

MERRY LUNCHEON

44

An “unashamedly festive occasion” as British chamber members, spouses, associates and friends round out the year with a traditional Christmas three-course meal with wine and coffee. Space is limited, so book early.

Hémicycle, Luxembourg-Kirchberg, 12:00-14:45 DECEMBER 2012

The chamber’s 2013 programme is kickedoff by an address from Étienne Schneider, who will be approaching his one year anniversary as minister of economy and foreign trade.

Doubletree by Hilton, LuxembourgDommeldange, 12:00

FEBRUARY

FREE TRADE ZONE

David Arendt, head of the Luxembourg Freeport, will talk about the new duty free logistics centre at Findel Airport during the February ABAL luncheon.

Alvisse Parc Hotel, Luxembourg-Dommeldange, 12:00

Nobelux www.nobelux.lu

Hanna Teleman/Swedish Investment Fund Association

Razvan Orendovici/ Creative Commons

2013 AGENDA

TUE 11

JANUARY

ADVANCING WOMEN

THU 24

JANUARY

IMPACT FUNDS

Rescheduled from October, this conference offers the Nordic perspective on sustainable investments, from impact funds to green buildings. Speakers include Pia Nilsson of the Swedish Investment Fund Association.

Abbaye de Neumünster, Luxembourg-Grund, 08:00-17:30

CORRECTION In last month’s agenda, we published an incorrect date for the British Chamber’s tax luncheon featuring Karl Horsburgh.

It took place Friday, November 16.

His presentation can be found online at www.bcc.lu.

ÉDITION 2012

Doing business in Luxembourg?

LUXEMBOURG BUSINESS LAW BOOK (ed. 2012) 630 pages Price : 220 € VAT incl.

Shipping cost : 5 € (Luxembourg) Free shipping for online purchase on www.legitech.lu

Here’s the law!

This book contains several of the principal business laws of Luxembourg in the areas of taxation, corporate law and the financial sector, updated as of March 1, 2012. We believe that this book represents a unique achievement in Luxembourg legal publishing history; one that we hope will assist

www.legitech.lu

English-speaking lawyers and businesspersons with their understanding of Luxembourg law and allow them to better explain the legislation to their international clients. The Luxembourg Business Law Book will be updated on a regular basis.

CHEF OF THE YEAR

David Laurent / Wide

Luc Deflorenne

Olivier Minaire

Julien Becker

Thierry Duhr has added to his Michelin star by being named the Gault&Millau chef of the year for 2013. The accolade was accorded him in the gastronomy guide’s 2013 Belux edition and a presentation was made at the end of November.

He follows in the footsteps of the likes of Akira Yasuoka at Kamakura, who won the award in 2011.

Duhr was awarded a Michelin star for his flagship Le Bouquet Garni restaurant.

He also runs the Caves Gourmandes and last year opened the Schéiss Restaurant in Belair. The award crowns a great year for Duhr, who was also asked to create a menu for the wedding of Crown Prince Guillaume with Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy. www.lebouquetgarni.lu

GIFTS FIT FOR ROYALTY Zakka on the rue de la Reine, close to the Grand Ducal palace, stocks a range of unique and interesting gift items, jewellery, children’s toys and household decorations, furnishings and accessories. www.zakka.lu

46

TOP PASTA

HERE’S THE BEEF

Franco and his Voglia Matta team moved out of their Bonnevoie location over the summer, It is now located in the legendary no. 49 boulevard Royal address, but still serves some of the best fresh pasta in town.

As the name suggests, Red Beef on rue Guillaume Kroll in Gasperich is a restaurant dedicated to meat, although fish and salads are also available. The beef is grilled using organic charcoal, which allows for quick and clean cooking.

KID STYLE The Fairy.eu is a boys and girls fashion webshop that has now opened an outlet on rue des Champs in Bertrange. It specializes in cool fashion brands such as Gro Company, Molo and Frankie & Liberty. www.thefairy.eu

DECEMBER 2012

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Olivier Minaire

Luc Deflorenne

LIFESTYLE

GUIDE MICHELIN The latest edition of the Guide Michelin for Belgium and Luxembourg reveals no change in the number of star restaurants in the Grand Duchy. Ten restaurants retain their one-star status and Mosconi remains the only two-star establishment in Luxembourg. However, two new names were added to the guide’s Bib Gourmand list. Two 6 Two in Strassen and La Bergamote in Luxembourg were both cited for their quality-price ratio. www.viamichelin.com

Gilles Rod

David Klein

RELAIS POUR LA VIE Registration for the Fondation Cancer’s annual awareness raising fun run, the Relais pour la Vie, opens on December 10. Registration for teams wanting to participate in a new Trophées de l’Espoir already opened on December 3. Teams can register for a 12- or 24-hour run around the track at the Coque, but be warned places fill up fast. The event takes place over the weekend of March 16 and 17, 2013. www.relaispourlavie.lu

TROC’N’BROLL The principle of the annual alternative art auction is simple. Artists bring in unique works to display them in the venue’s gallery room. At 6 p.m. guests can wander around the exhibition and make bids on individual works by offering goods or services--anything from a massage to a personally cooked dinner--which they write on post-it. The artists decide upon the winning bids and everyone has a party.

December 20, CarréRotondes, www.rotondes.lu

Andrés Lejona

ADVENTSCIRCUS The circus is a traditional outing for families in the Advent period before Christmas. As usual, the big top is set up on the Glacis for a series of performances by acrobats, clowns, daredevils and animal trainers. The show is suitable for all ages and the programme, until December 16, includes several afternoon matinee performances. www.luxemburger-adventscircus.eu

YOAKE AWARD Yoake The Ultimate Spa has been awarded a Quality of Service awarded at the Gala Spa Awards 2012 in Rome.

The spa was founded in 2005 and is focused on a complete range of treatments, from relaxing and rejuvenating massages and hot stone therapies to facials and detox. “The award is recompense for the efforts we have made… and confirmation that our philosophy of offering excellence is the right path,” says Yoake founder Odette Tonnaer. www.yoake.lu

It may not be as big as some of the German Christmas markets, but the Chrëschtmaart on the place d’Armes is still a popular meeting point for Luxembourgers and ex-pats alike. And this year it is expanding across to the place de la Constitution.

Like the traditional German markets, it is best enjoyed after dusk when it glows with festive light and the damp evening air is filled with the scent of Glühwein (mulled wine), roasted chestnuts and fried Grompererkichelcher (herby potato cakes). Live music is provided by local choirs and ensembles playing on the bandstand.

This year’s market incorporates a second venue, with a set of stalls on the place de la Constitution nestling below the Gëlle Fra. These will include more food and drink stands, a Winter Lounge Café and a 50-metre high big wheel from which passengers will gain a magnificent view across the old city and down towards the Gare neighbourhood.

The market is open until December 30 (the big wheel until January 1). www.winterlights.lu

Digicash

Andrés Lejona

XL XMAS MARKET DIGICASH BCEE has launched the first Luxembourg partnership with Digicash, allowing its S-net customers to pay at participating shops, restaurants and other service suppliers using their smart phones. The system involves customers simply scanning a QR code with their phone (iPhone or Android) to have the applicable sum debited directly from their current account.

The S-Digicash app is available, for free, at the App Store as well as in Google Play. www.digicash.lu DECEMBER 2012

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LIFESTYLE

Bettina Borgfeld

Frères des Hommes

WEAVING IN GUATEMALA Together with a local organisation, FDH supports artisans in western Altiplano

Aid development

BROTHERHOOD OF MAN Frères des Hommes is a development NGO established in Luxembourg in 1974 that works on projects aimed at tackling poverty by supporting initiatives from the local population.

U

nlike some aid organisations, Frères des Hommes (FDH) is proud of the fact that it has no political or religious affiliation. Indeed, it specifically aims to be all encompassing in its goals to build what it calls “a just and fair society where poverty would become a problem of the past.” To this end it establishes partnerships with civil society organisations in countries across Latin America and Africa, more specifically in Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Senegal and South Africa.

But it does more than just help the poor in those countries. FDH sees itself as a point of convergence between north and south; to promote a better understanding of the interdependence between the developed and developing world and of the causes of poverty and underdevelopment. In addition, as the organisation’s manager for African affairs, Elisabeth Voyeux points out, it also “works on awareness raising programmes in Luxembourg.” This includes educational programmes and exhibitions as well as lobbying and campaign-

48 48_lifestyle.indd 48

ing on specific themes, such as food sovereignty, rural life, access to water, environment and biodiversity, citizenship and international trade.

FDH projects in developing countries are not carried out with a top-down approach. “The long-term partnerships on which FDH bases its activities imply sharing ideals, objectives and responsibility in supporting initiatives coming from the local population,” the organisation explains.

In Africa and Latin America FDH focuses its project work around five main themes: agriculture, citizenship, education, women and children and the environment.

Concretely, it means that FDH supports women’s economic activities in Senegal, Burkina Faso and Guatemala; citizenship and leadership building for youngsters in South Africa; small farmers in their struggle against agribusiness in Bolivia and South Africa; capacity-building activities for rural people in Burkina Faso and Guatemala and the landless peasants’ movement in Brazil. www.fdh.lu

Cultural programme

CINÉMA DU SUD

The Cinéma du Sud festival, covering the issue of human rights in the world, is currently taking place at the Utopia cinema. It is a joint programme of several Luxembourgish NGOs, including FDH. A documentary on the rights to land, to food and to health in Paraguay, Raising Resistance (photo), will be shown on December 6. A documentary on the rights to land and to demonstrate in the Palestinian territory, Budrus, will be shown on December 13. Both screenings start at 6:30 p.m. in the Utopia cinema in Limpertsberg. www.cinemadusud.lu

Practical info

RESOURCES

The activities of FDH are funded by private contributions (individuals and associations) as well as by public funding through the Luxembourg government and communes. For more information visit FDH offices in Luxembourg city at 11 rue des Bains, tel: 466 238 . www.fdh.lu

DECEMBER 2012

28/11/12 12:43 PM

27 JANUARY 2013 Atelier Concert

PAUL BANKS

(from Interpol)

Win rt ce c o nk e t s ! tic

Delano_1212_Atelier.indd 1

Send an email mentioning “den Atelier/PAULBANKS” to contest@delano.lu Deadline for entries is 15 JANUARY 2013 Winners will be notified by email

26/11/12 11:26

COVERSTORY

TUDOR Heritage Black Bay

HUBLOT Classic Fusion Chrono King Gold

CHANEL GMT Céramic Noir Mat

LUXURY SHOPPING

SOUL CITY TIME KEEPER 50 50-54_coverstory.indd 50

DECEMBER 2012

28/11/12 12:10 PM

COVERSTORY

ROLEX Day-Date II Or Jaune ROLEX Sky-Dweller Everose

PATEK PHILIPPE Calendrier Annuel Or Blanc

Robert Goeres epitomises the image of the immaculatelydressed, inscrutable businessman. But the luxury watch retailer possesses an infectious enthusiasm for his industry, the capital as a shopping centre and the people that lend the city its soul.

Text by Duncan Roberts Photography by Julien Becker

DECEMBER 2012

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COVERSTORY

THRIVING LUXURY Rue Philippe II and its adjacent streets have emerged as the shopping area for luxury products in Luxembourg.

CHANEL – NO. 14-16 The French label is the latest addition to the city centre.

It’s 140 m2 store opened at the beginning of November. www.chanel.com

SONIA RYKIEL – NO. 10 & BOUTIQUE SONIA – NO. 33 The fashion designer’s flagship store has been a fixture for several years.

Its new boutique opened this summer. www.soniarykiel.com

HERMÈS – NO. 13 The French lifestyle accessories specialist was one of the first luxury brands to set up shop on rue Philippe II. www.hermes.com

B

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GUCCI – NO. 21 The bling label is another new addition, located on the corner with avenue Monterrey leading to the place d’Armes. www.gucci.com

efore settling down to speak about the luxury brand industry and retail business, Robert Goeres must partake in an espresso macchiato at his favourite coffee shop. Just around the corner from Goeres Horlogerie we step into the crowded downstairs space of Coffee Lounge, where we are assaulted by a cacophony of excited chatter, the whirr of grinding coffee and the hiss of steam that provides a stark contrast to the exquisitely calm and clean interior of his own working environment. Goeres is perfectly at ease talking and joshing with the barista and a sales rep bearing a tiny sample of deliciously fragrant cinnamon. Later he will point to the friendly ambience of that coffee break as proof that the city “still has a soul.”

It is now five years since Goeres moved his luxury watch retail business to rue Philippe II and became de facto godfather for the street’s upper crust brand retailers. He is one of the major actors in the street’s marketing initiatives, such as the Les Vignes late night opening in the autumn at which customers are literally given the red carpet treatment, or the impressive Christmas illuminations

that have hung in the street during the festive season for the past two years (they will not be put up this year as Goeres explains, slightly exasperated, that it was only he and a handful of other retailers who paid for the lights that benefitted the whole street-only now that they are not there have those who hadn’t previously contributed financially said they would have paid had they known there was a danger of the lights not appearing).

The human factor Goeres says he is always speaking about different chapters of his company. First he opened the boutique in premises next to the hotel run by his family in Belair (a space now occupied by acclaimed wine merchant In Vino Gildas). Then, some five years ago, the store moved to its current location on rue Philippe II. “Then we started to really measure ourselves. In 2003 we were the first small retail company in Europe to receive a Basel II rating. That made us understand a lot about the company. We also started a Corporate Social

DECEMBER 2012

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COVERSTORY

HUGO BOSS – NO. 25A The German fashion brand has been located at the lower end of rue Philippe II for some 10 years. www.hugoboss.com

LOUIS VUITTON – NO. 2 AVENUE DE LA PORTE-NEUVE The bags and accessories label is due to move to a new Grand-Rue location in January. www.louisvuitton.com

KENZO – NO. 7 The Japanese fashion label is located right in the heart of rue Philippe II. www.kenzo.com

MARC JACOBS – NO. 34 RUE NOTRE-DAME The American designer this year opened his first dedicated store in Luxembourg with an address on the “Ennescht gaas”. www.marcjacobs.com

Responsibility programme and in 2011 we won the Luxembourg Quality Award. That put is in the same league as big corporations and institutions such as hospitals. They do it because they are so big they lose sight of the human factor. We are lucky that we have retained our human factor, we have kept our soul.”

Goeres represents a handful of the most prestigious watch brands in Europe. Certain brands are placing more and more importance on being represented in the context of their corporate philosophy. “It’s all about the last mile,” he says. Goeres Horlogerie is actually one of only a dozen outlets world-wide that is accredited as an Aftersales Service Center by both Patek Philippe and Rolex.

But that means meeting strict criteria, such as ensuring that the customised tooling machines required by each brand to carry out repairs and adjustments to their timepieces are kept hidden under cover from the prying eyes of visitors to the second floor workshops.

But recognition like that doesn’t mean that Goeres and his team--“when I say ‘we’ I always mean my team,” he explains--are resting on their laurels. He has taken over

a second retail space in the city, on the rue des Capucins next to home furnishings store Tapis Hertz, which he grabbed as an opportunity without really knowing what he was going to do with it. “Everything is ready, but we still haven’t chosen the bride,” says Goeres light-heartedly. “Which gives us an interesting position.” In fact, Goeres is looking into the concept of pop-up stores for the space in the 100-year old building and its first chapter will be as a Hublot pop-up store.

While the final concept may be in doubt, Goeres commitment to success is not. “I have never seen anything that doesn’t succeed without hard work,” he explains. “Every day I try to work two hours harder and longer than others, which over a year adds up to 600 hours--at 40 hours a week that is 15 weeks extra, which means I am almost four months ahead.”

The retailer also believes that having money is the enemy of graft and ingenuity.

“Creativeness is stimulated when you don’t have enough means. And then if you do get the means, you have to aim higher--at which point others will tell you, you don’t belong in that league; that you are aiming too high. That is

when we smell blood and start the chase,” says Goeres rubbing his hands with glee.

Goeres and his team also travel to look at shops abroad, to see what is happening in other cities and with similar stores. “My father always asked what was the point of doing that.” The networking with other retailers and close association with the prestigious brands he represents at Goeres Horlogerie has been rewarded with invitations to major seminars attended by high level people from the industry. “We even got to make a presentation on why we do CSR, the Luxembourg Quality Award and so on. We came together with people from Asia, the United States, Europe… and it made me realise that we all deal with the same topics. And that is what makes the luxury industry special.

OK, everyone will say that what they are doing is special, but I am convinced that the luxury industry is the same around the world in the industrialised countries. So it doesn’t follow classic economical rules, because if you define luxury it involves a very significant emotional value. And emotions are not mathematics; you can’t calculate them. Major brands like Veuve Clicquot, Bollinger, Hermès or Louis Vuitton DECEMBER 2012

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COVERSTORY

“EMOTIONS ARE NOT MATHEMATICS; YOU CAN’T CALCULATE THEM” ROBERT GOERES

are the same around the globe. They don’t adjust their product to the local market like many other brands do--making lemonade sweeter or less sweet, depending on the market.”

Having recognized this fundamental truth, the Goeres team set out to analyse the luxury sector on a global scale as well as its country and greater region market. “So we identify trend adjustments--not really new trends, because luxury has a certain tradition and things maybe don’t move as fast. Sometimes you don’t notice them, but you turn around one day and gasp in surprise.”

Accessibility The same is happening with Luxembourg City, says Goeres. People who haven’t been to the capital for some time or who “ haven’t seen it on a daily basis with open eyes” are shocked by how much change there has been. But he thinks the city is evolving quite naturally.

“There has been a very normal and very healthy

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change in the city centre.” And he is proud of the unique accessibility of the city’s shopping area. “It is all within walking distance, and that is what we are working on promoting with the ministries of the economy, of tourism or small business. In London you are always in the wrong area--either on Regent Street or in Knightsbridge. In Paris you are either at place Vendome or in the Marais, in Brussels the Sablon or avenue Louise.” His own boutique is just 250 metres from the palace, for example.

“And you have to really try to get lost in Luxembourg city. Everything leads back to three main axes.” And finding landmarks, which everyone needs in a city, is also easy. “If you have problems, you have the wrong landmarks,” he says with a smile.

He thinks many locals still don’t realise how lucky they are. Goeres cites a minister who returned from a trip to Asia and was impressed by a hotel’s subterranean shopping mall, where he said he could find all major brands grouped together. “I told him

he could walk out of his office in Luxembourg and find the same.” This makes Luxembourg an increasingly interesting shopping destination, says Goeres. But he wants international brands to focus on more than one street and to open up stores in neighbouring streets within walking distance--they will still reach the same customers, he argues.

Goeres loves the fact that more and more people are coming to live in the city and the nightlife atmosphere is improving. Furthermore, initiatives such as the third Sunday of the month openings and markets on the place Guillaume II and Glacis have also brought life into the city. Indeed, he insists throughout that he is in to promoting the city, not his store. “More and more people are coming to Luxembourg for a weekend getaway that includes shopping--people living here may not notice right now but one day they will turn around and ask where did all the tourists come from.”

But Goeres recalls that as recently as 10 years ago, it was difficult to convince some major European luxury brands to set up shop in the city. Now brands such as Hermes, Chanel and Cartier (moving soon from its Grand-Rue location) are staples on rue Philippe II, while Louis Vuitton will be moving just a few hundred metres away. “There is change, some air circulating.”

Nevertheless, he acknowledges that many people complain that streets in every European city have the same brands. “But why should people have to travel to find their favourite brand? And let’s be clear, there is only one thing that drives the retail business and sets landmarks; and that is customers.”

DECEMBER 2012

28/11/12 12:10 PM

LIFESTYLE

THE GIVING SEASON: FIVE IDEAS FOR LOCAL GIFTS 02

01

04

BELLE ÉPOQUE DVD

A PHIL SEASON TICKET

Andy Bausch was a pioneer of Luxembourg film thanks to comedies such as Troublemaker, but more recently it has been his entertaining and informative documentaries about, often obscure, facets of Luxembourg culture and history that have won him praise. This film explore the Belle Époque period through the medium of old postcards. With English subtitles. www.ptd.lu

Each year at around Christmas the concert hall puts season tickets for groups of four concerts for 2013 up for sale. These include the 88 touches programme featuring four piano concerts--among them the renowned Yuja Wang--as well as a Classique series that includes Hilary Hahn’s January concert and four Evasion concerts featuring jazz and world music performers. www.philharmonie.lu

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05

MONOPHONA’S THE SPY The Luxembourg music scene has exploded over the past 10 to 15 years, with a clutch of local bands and artists--Sun Glitters, Mount Stealth, Alvin and Lee, to name a few--producing music that could hold its own on the international stage. Monophona belongs to that happy bunch. The trio of Chook (programming), Claudine Muno (vocals, guitars, keys) and Jorsch has just released its debut album. The Spy is chock-full of delicious soundscapes and features single releases ‘Give Up’ and ‘Shades of Grey’. Even before its release, Dan Hegarty of RTE in Ireland was giving The Spy “album of the week” recognition.

The Monophona sound is unique, though somehow warmly familiar and topped

by Muno’s delicate vocals it is easily accessible but thought-provoking. If you only buy one Luxembourg album as a gift this year, make sure it is this one. www.monophona.com

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DECEMBER 2012

ÄDDI&MERCI T-SHIRTS

TOP WINE

The Luxembourg language is full of idiosyncratic expressions and wonderfully unique words. These are celebrated on t-shirts by Äddi&Merci--slogans such as “klibber mech” or “a soss?” and words often referring to typically local foods such as “grompererkichelchen” and “kachkeis”--are printed in quality shirts is fashionable colours. They are available for men, women and kids. www.aeddi-a-merci.lu

Luxembourg wines have improved dramatically over the past 15 years or so thanks to quality control, favourable weather conditions and a new generation of wine-makers. Seek out the specially selected Domaine et Tradition vintages made by seven independent houses and you will find some great white wines ranging from fruity, acidic Auxerrois to beautifully rounded Gewürztraminer. www.domaine-et-tradition.lu

Christmas subscription «Évasion» 31.01.2013 «Ciné-Concert» Pascal Contet accordéon Film: Sunrise – A Song of Two Humans (1927)

09.03.2013 «Fatou» Fatoumata Diawara photo: Youri Lenquette

11.04.2013 Cassandra Wilson & Band

10.05.2013 «Jazz on the horizon» OPL / Django Bates & Human Chain Django Bates photo: Nick White

4 concert subscription: 72 / 108 / 148 € (< 27: 48 / 72 / 99 €) (+352) 26 32 26 32 // www.philharmonie.lu

02

18 LIVE SHOWS While the quantity may drop off during the holidays, there is no let-up in the quality of cultural events over the next two months. From a criminally under-rated American songwriter to an acclaimed Peter Brook production via innovative dance from Australia, 2013 begins with a bang.

DANIEL BALTHASAR

01

Local songwriter Daniel Balthasar plays a showcase to unveil his new album, Everything Is Temporary. Recorded at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios, the album, like 2010’s Walk Under Water, features a duet with Sarah Bettens from K’s Choice. The show will also feature local singers such as Claudine Muno, Deborah Lehnen and Serge Tonnar.

January 19, den Atelier, Luxembourg-Hollerich, www.atelier.lu

Véronique Kolber

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RONE/ROCKETNUMBERNINE French experimental techno artist Rone is a rising star on the electronic music scene. His album, Tohu Bohu, received rave reviews for its melodious atmospherics, with some calling it ahead of its time. Also on the double bill is Rocketnumbernine--brothers Ben and Tom Page who play “entrancing… meandering post-rock.”

December 14, Exit07 (CarréRotondes), Luxembourg-Hollerich, www.rotondes.lu

American music man

Chris Herzfeld-Camlight Productions

04

MARK EITZEL

AUSTRALIAN DANCE THEATRE

One of the most criminally under-rated American singer-songwriters of the last three decades, Mark Eitzel returns to opderschmelz for a third time. The first he was with the short-lived reformation of his original band American Music Club, a group that Pitchfork rightly praises thus: “They conveyed complex sentiments more likely to resonate with those who’d lived long enough to get knocked down a few times, shedding layers of self-esteem and solipsism along the way.”

Since the band’s second demise, Eitzel has returned to solo work, even if latest album, Don’t Be A Stranger, also features AMC’s guitarist Vudi. The album follows a heart attack last year, which could explain why Eitzel’s renowned ability to wring elegant poetry, and sometimes deadpan humour, from vexatious observation and miserable circumstance, is even more evident here. The album is a thing of delicate beauty, peppered with songs of wry bitterness and self-reflection reminiscent of Scott Walker or even Nick Drake.

January 23, opderschmelz, Dudelange, www.opderschmelz.lu

Under the artistic direction of Garry Stewart, Australia’s premier contemporary dance troupe brings its latest innovative show to Luxembourg. Proximity features eight dancers training video cameras on each other; the captured images are manipulated and projected in real time onto massive screens that span the stage.

January 8 and 9, Grand Théâtre, Luxembourg-Limpertsberg, www.theatres.lu

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2012

2013

NEW YEARS EVE AT THE GRAND THÉÂTRE

AUSTRALIAN DANCE THEATRE A ATRE PROXIMITY

ON DECEMBER 31ST, ULTIMATE DAY OF THE YEAR, THE GRAND THÉÂTRE WILL DRESS TO THE NINES! AT 7PM PROCEEDINGS WILL BEGIN WITH HAVANA RAKATAN IN THE MAIN AUDITORIUM A FLAMBOYANT FIREWORK DISPLAY COMBINING SALSA, MAMBA, JAZZ, BOLERO, SON, CHA-CHA-CHA AND RUMBA. AFTER THE SHOW, THE TEAM OF THE BRASSERIE SCHUMAN WILL HOST A DELIGHTFUL EVENING IN THE FOYER OF THE THEATRE COMPRISING A SUCCULENT DINNER MENU AND FESTIVE MUSIC.

8 & 9.01.2013 A AT 8PM AT THE GR AND THÉÂTRE A ADULTS 25€, 20€, 15€ STUDENTS 8€ » BRILLIANTLY NTLY SPECT SPECTACULAR, “PROXIMITY” MAKES YOU THINK, AS THE BEST FESTIVAL PERFORMANCES SHOULD. “THE AUSTRALIAN”

© CHRIS HERZFELD

© ALISTAIR MUIR

A FESTIVE CELEBRATION TO CONLUDE A MONTH OF FESTIVITIES

ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCES OF HAVANA RAKATAN 29 & 30.12.2012 AT 8PM

INFORMATIONS ET RÉSERVATIONS POUR LE SPECTACLE ET LE MENU AUPRÈS DE LUXEMBOURG TICKET / 1, ROND-POINT SCHUMAN / L-2525 LUXEMBOURG / TÉL. +352/47 08 95 1 PRIX DE LA REPRÉSENTATION : ADULTES 25€, 20€, 15€ / JEUNES 8€ PRIX DU MENU : ADULTES 70€, ENFANTS (-12 ANS) 35€ (BOISSONS NON INCLUSES)

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LIFESTYLE 09

MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS Already a pop star in the UK thanks to hit singles ‘Hollywood’ and ‘I Am Not A Robot’, Marina and the Diamonds now threatens to breakthrough globally with new album Electra Heart. Employing hitmaking writers and producers, the result is a more dance-oriented, and perhaps less unique, take on lightweight pop as evidenced by the Gaga like ‘Primadonna’.

January 26, den Atelier, Luxembourg-Hollerich, www.atelier.lu

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Colm Hogan

Peter Miller/Deutsche Grammophon

08

Jan Versweyveld

05

HOVE DOES BERGMAN

HILARY HAHN

THE SUIT

Renowned Dutch director Ivo van Hove tackles two works by the legendary Ingmar Bergman that both focus on the world of the theatre. After the rehearsal takes a look at a director for whom theatre is the very essence of life, while Persona examines the motives of an actress who abruptly stops in the middle of a performance of Electra.

January 18 and 19, Grand Théâtre, Luxembourg-Limpertsberg, www.theatres.lu

Hilary Hahn comes to the Philharmonie to perform works by Fauré, Corelli and Bach as well as a selection of new works especially commissioned by the awardwinning violinist. Bach is a particularly apt choice for Hahn, who was described by Lawrence A. Johnson in Chicago Classical Review as unequalled in performing his music. She is accompanied by Cory Smyth on piano.

January 9, Philharmonie, LuxembourgKirchberg, www.philharmonie.lu

Renowned director Peter Brook (photo) brings his English-language adaptation of South African writer Can Themba’s novel The Suit to Luxembourg. The novel is a darkly humorous tale that follows the story of a lawyer who catches his wife in an illicit affair and makes her treat her quickly fled lover’s discarded suit as an honoured house guest as punishment.

February 6-9, Grand Théâtre, Luxembourg-Limpertsberg, www.theatres.lu

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Maurice Jerry Beznos

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CHAMBER ORCHESTRA OF EUROPE Under the baton of Herbert Blomstedt, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe performs Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.4 (featuring award-winning American pianist Emmanuel Ax) and Third Symphony.

The Third Symphony, the Eroica, features opening movements that Leonard Bernstein called “perhaps the greatest two movements in all symphonic music.”

December 18, Philharmonie, Luxembourg-Kirchberg, www.philharmonie.lu 07

Julien Becker

Konrad Comedy Club

DATING MUSSORGSKY The “Dating” series allows audiences to learn about a particular composer and the context of a chosen work. Presented in French with English subtitles by Tom Leick and Nicole Marx, the January edition explores Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, played by the OPL. January 23, Philharmonie, LuxembourgKirchberg, www.philharmonie.lu

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CHRIS MARTIN

Konrad Comedy Club brings its successful first year to an end with two performances by Chris Martin.

No, not the Coldplay singer (a coincidence that he “wearily dismisses”) but the stand-up comedian who, according to his own biography notice, “brings intelligent material as well as simple immature jokes to any room.”

Martin has received some favourable press and his good looks and wellnatured comedy--one reviewer says he “speaks of relatable, everyday phenomena”--have been noted by critics and fans alike as likely to put him on the road to stardom in the UK.

Indeed, comedy website Chortle says he is “a late-stage prototype of the genuine article.”

Konrad Comedy Club brings over to Luxembourg renowned and on the rise stand-up comedians every month courtesy of Luxair. The majority of acts have gone down very well with the compact audience in the Konrad cellar and more acts, and perhaps a larger comedy event, are promised for 2013. Keep checking the Delano newsletter and website for a chance to win tickets.

December 12 and 13, Konrad Café & Bar, Luxembourg-Centre, www.konradcafe.com

DECEMBER 2012

28/11/12 12:23 PM

Vinothèque

Our wine shop offers a wide range of sparkling wines, crémants and still wines from Luxembourg and abroad.

Opening hours from 1st April to 31st October: every day from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm From 1st November to 31st March: Monday-Friday from 10:00 to 12:00 am and 1:30 to 6:00 pm Saturday from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm

Caves Bernard-Massard S.A. 22, route du vin L-6794 Grevenmacher Tel.: 75 05 45-228/229 Fax: 75 05 45 280 info@bernard-massard.lu www.bernard-massard.com

Visitors are most welcome to tour our cellars and to discover the secrets of the production of our sparkling wines.

Parking facilities for easy loading.

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10/24/12 3:41 PM

02.12.

CRYSTAL CASTLES

27.01.

03.12.

BALTHAZAR

01.02.

04.12.

AMY MACDONALD

(FREE ENTRY)

LIFE IN A BEAUTIFUL LIGHT TOUR

05.12.

DAN SAN

06.12.

STUPEFLIP: NOUVEAU SPECTAC

(FREE ENTRY)

02.02.

03.02.

04.02.

07.02.

07.12.

WAX TAILOR

08.02.

07.12.

STAHLZEIT

09.02.

THE RAMMSTEIN TRIBUTE SHOW NO 1

08.12.

IN EXTREMO

10.02.

11.12.

MONO

17.02.

12.12.

CHILLY GONZALES

22.02.

13.12.

SILBERMOND

14.12.

URIAH HEEP

14.12.

M&R PROUFSALL SESSION 2

SOLO PIANO II

(FREE ENTRY)

21.12.

AN APPLE A DAY EP RELEASE (FREE ENTRY)

16.01.

25.01.

26.01.

CRO EMILY LOIZEAU SUAREZ

26.02.

28.02.

02.03.

03.03.

BILLY TALENT PAUL KALKBRENNER ZITA SWOON GROUP DROPKICK MURPHYS MAXIMILIAN HECKER DINOSAUR JR. REA GARVEY LILLY WOOD AND THE PRICK ANGUS STONE PASSENGER LOU DOILLON FRISKA VILJOR TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB TONY CARREIRA AMANDA PALMER & THE GRAND THEFT ORCHESTRA

08.03.

LETZ ZEP ZEPPELIN’S RESURRECTION

09.03.

THE KILLERS

14.03.

19.03.

20.03.

27.03.

10.04.

THE BLOODY BEETROOTS LIVE JOE BONAMASSA EMELI SANDE MUMFORD & SONS JOE COCKER FIRE IT UP EUROPEAN TOUR

11.04.

MONO 11-12-2012

ONEREPUBLIC

16.-21.04. WE WILL ROCK YOU

29.05.

ARNO THE BOOTLEG BEATLES 24 HEURES ELECTRONIQUES: GOOSE...

LANA DEL REY PSY 4 DE LA RIME FRITZ KALKBRENNER AN EVENING WITH MARK KNOPFLER AND BAND TRAMPLED BY TURTLES

02.06.

ALICIA KEYS

20.04.

26.04.

27.04.

30.04.

04.05.

08.05.

15.05.

ANGUS STONE 10-02-2013

(FREE ENTRY)

GIRL ON FIRE - THE TOUR

JOE BONAMASSA 19-03-2013

www.rockhal.lu JOE COCKER 10-04-2013

LIFESTYLE 18

12

HAVANA RAKATAN A vibrant and colourful show that combines salsa, rumba and more to digest some 500 years of dancing in Cuba into two hours on stage. Fourteen dancers and an eight-piece band perform what has become one of Sadler’s Wells’ most successful productions. The show on December 31 includes a post-show dinner dance to welcome in the New Year.

December 29, 30 & 31, Grand Théâtre, Luxembourg-Limpertsberg, www.theatres.lu 13

BRAVE NEW WORLD Paul Stebbings directs a TNT Britain adaptation of Aldous Huxley’s classic novel. Described as “the most extraordinary science fiction satire of the century”, Brave New World was written in 1931 and predicted a future utopia, but one in which culture, books, love and individual choice have disappeared along with pain, poverty and crime.

January 21 & 23, Abbaye de Neumünster, Luxembourg-Grund, www.ccrn.lu

Paul Banks

SOLO RELISH

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Paul Banks relishes being his own man.

In a recent interview with Independentie he seemed to contradict his own publicists, who have been marketing his second solo album, the self-titled Banks, as his most personal work to date. “Most of what I write is not autobiographical or confessional,” he said, adding that the last Interpol album actually contained “probably the most personal lyrics I’ve ever written.” The Interpol frontman has confounded and confused fans and crit-

ics alike before, of course. Interpol’s last two albums were a deliberate change of tack from the band’s earlier recorded output, and his first solo album was released under pseudonym Julian Plenti. And he is mate with Bono and has dated Helena Christensen. His new album has had mixed reviews, but songs like ‘Young Again’ are wonderfully melodic and accessible rock.

January 27, den Atelier, LuxembourgHollerich, www.atelier.lu

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NEW ANGELS

INTERMEDII

AMUSEMENT PARKS ON FIRE

JIM JONES REVUE

Based on Edgar Allen Poe’s The Black Cat, this brand new production combines theatre, dance and song for what promises to be a fascinating show.

TNL director Frank Hoffmann worked with Austrian artists Martin Haselböck and Virgil Widrich to create the production, which features dancers Jean-Guillaume Weis and Sylvia Camarda and the music of JS Bach and David Sylvian.

December 18-20, Théâtre National du Luxembourg, Luxembourg-Merl, www.tnl.lu

Vocal ensemble Intermedii hols its traditional Christmas concert at the Konvict Chapel on avenue Marie-Thérèse. Titled a Concert of Music in Preparation for Christmas, the music will be interspersed with readings by the Reverend Chris Lyon and Father Ed Hone. Intermedii here performs with musicians from the Ni Ensemble in aid of a Cystic Fibrosis charity.

December 17, Chapelle du Konvikt, Luxembourg-Centre, www.intermedii.lu

Shoegazing should by all rights have died a quite death in the early 90s, but its flame is kept alive by the likes of Nottingham’s Amusement Parks On Fire.

The band, which has three albums under its belt, has been likened to My Bloody Valentine and Dinosaur Jr., which is a good thing, though last album Road Eyes drew comparisons with Chapterhouse and Lush, which is not a good thing.

January 31, Soul Kitchen, Luxembourg-Hollerich, www.atelier.lu

Hailed by Andrew Perry in The Telegraph as “by far the most exciting straight-ahead rock’n’roll band Britain has produced in a decade or more,” the Jim Jones Revue five-piece plays ferocious, heads-down, no nonsense punkfuelled rock. The band’s third album, The Savage Heart, has just been released to critical acclaim. But it is live, in a sweaty club that the band is at its best, loudest and wildest.

December 10, den Atelier, Luxembourg-Hollerich, www.atelier.lu

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DECEMBER 2012

FANCY A HOLIDAY?

OPENING HOURS: LATE NIGHT FRIDAY 2 PM - 9 PM, SATURDAY AND SUNDAY 10 AM - 7 PM MOTORWAY A1, EXIT 8 WWW.EXPOVAKANZ.LU

FEEL IT LIVE!

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LIFESTYLE

HAPPY KIDS: PLAY & PARTY TIME

Yes, it’s that time again: children will not only be asking for presents but also for more attention and entertainment. Here are a few ideas to make the season that more merrier.

Text by Neel Chrillesen

01

Child-friendly

03

04

PLAYGIRLS & GAMEBOYS For the second year running, CarréRotondes will become a paradise for anyone between 10 and 99 years old who loves to play board games in any variety (or giant wooden games), in a fun and relaxed atmosphere. The Ludothèque (“game library”) will be open on December 15, from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. and entry is free.

CarréRotondes, 1 rue de l’Aciérie, Luxembourg-Hollerich, tel. 26 62 20 07, www.rotondes.lu

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DECEMBER 2012

SNOWMAN “MOVIE CONCERT” Raymond Briggs’ beloved book The Snowman was successfully brought to life by Dianne Jackson for British TV in the 1980s. The animated but wordless movie (like the book) will be shown by the CNA on December 18 at 3 p.m. with a magical twist: pianist Hugues Maréchal will accompany the film live.

Centre national de l’audiovisuel (CNA), 1b rue du Centenaire, Dudelange, tel. 52 24 24 1, www.cna.lu

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© Christian Bès

© CarréRotondes

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Looking for a venue to celebrate New Year’s Eve where you won’t have to worry about if the children are having fun? The Pfaffenthal youth hostel, located in Luxembourg City (just below the Bock fortifications), may be just the place to go. Like previous years, it will host a family St. Sylvester evening, complete with children’s entertainment, billiards, table tennis and flying lampions to set free at midnight. The menu consists of an aperitif (adult and child version), a buffet of starters, followed by glazed duck breast with side dishes and an assortment of delightful desserts. Later during the night, lentil soup with Luxembourgish sausage will be served. The price for children (under 12) is €9.40, while adults and teens pay €28.20. Of course, you need to reserve beforehand.

Auberge de jeunesse Luxembourg, 2 rue du Fort Olisy, Luxembourg-Pfaffenthal, tel.: 26 27 66 650 or luxembourg@youthhostels.lu

NON SCARY CLOWNS Even if you’re not too fond of clowns, you’ll enjoy the Bibeu & Humphrey show taking place on December 28 at 5 p.m. and December 29 at 3 p.m. at the Grand Théâtre--and it will be a sure hit with the kids! The clowns are funny, musically talented--and speak the universal language of happiness.

Adults: €10 and children €5.

Grand Théâtre, 1 rond-point Schuman, Luxembourg-Limptersberg, www.theatres.lu

Casino Art Forum

Luc Deflorenne (archives)

NEW YEAR’S EVE OUT

STARDUST WORKSHOP This workshop will be held in English on December 15 from 3 to 5 p.m. Leonora Bisagno, one of the artists participating in Casino Art Forum’s Making of exhibit, will help children (age 5 to 8) create art using remaining materials from her own works. Reservation needed: €6 (free with the KLIK-Kaart).

Casino Art Forum, 41 rue Notre-Dame, Luxembourg-Centre, tel.: 22 50 45, www.casino-luxembourg.lu

TMA CHRIS

D S FUN

P G CAM N I S I RA

AIGN

Make a difference for the holiday season by supporting our grassroots projects based in Africa and Latin America:

• EUR 15 can raise development awareness through theatre in Burkina Faso

• EUR 20 will pay for 50 Mayan women to be

trained on product transformation and marketing

• EUR 30 can set up a township youth leadership programme in South Africa

Offer your donation now!

CCPL LU23 1111 0089 9874 0000 or on

www.fdh.lu (via PayPal). All donations are tax deductible

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SHARE OUR PASSION www.ocl.lu

MY OTHER LIFE

Robert Mandell

THE COLOUR OF POSSIBILITY The US ambassador’s pallet gets brighter with age.

Text by Tonya Stoneman Photography by Steve Eastwood

W

hen you walk into the Luxembourg residence of US ambassador Robert Mandell, you are immediately greeted by a Wolf Kahn canvas depicting a country pond in brilliant greens worthy of Chagall. As you pass into the greeting room, you experience the work of Hans Hofmann, Robert Motherwell, Roy Lichtenstein, Frank Stella, and others. These art works have been supplied by a US State Department initiative called “Art in Embassies”. The programme curates exhibitions for embassy residences worldwide. Each ambassador is given the opportunity to select the pieces of contemporary American art that will hang in his or her residence.

For Mandell, that privilege allowed him to advance a great passion in his life--using art to connect with others and to bring people together. There is another stunning Wolf Kahn at the top of the staircase--a huge oil canvas depicting a treeline in hues of fuchsia and rose. “Wolf Kahn is a friend of mine and has been a role model for me,” says Mandell.

“The colours he uses are phenomenal. I’ve gone into the woods with him and we’ve painted together. It’s the coolest thing. It’s like playing basketball with Michael Jordan.”

Although his parents are serious collectors, Mandell painted only briefly during college.

About 15 years ago, he found his abandoned art supplies in his mother’s garage and was inspired to pick up where he left off. “I pulled out my old brushes and easel and started to paint,” he recalls. “But it was two years before I allowed anyone to see my paintings. I didn’t want to be judged. I didn’t want anyone to see that part of me. Then I got to a place where I didn’t care anymore. I grew up. I became less concerned about what people thought and I started hanging them up and gave some of them away. And I started painting in earnest.”

The ambassador is passionate about art and shares his pastime with others every chance he gets. “I remember a day with Grant Hill [the basketball player],” he says. “He and his wife came

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for dinner and I thought rather than just shoot the breeze, we would paint together. At 1 a.m., he didn’t want to stop painting.”

Aside from charming good friends, Mandell has witnessed the genuine power of art to connect people. He tells the story of two mayors: one a Democrat and the other a Republican. “They were not friends with each other, but both were friends with me. So I invited them to my home for dinner and we spent an entire evening painting together.

Painting gave them common ground on a non-confrontational basis. They remain close friends to this day.”

The ambassador’s residence is filled with fine art, but the pictures in his dining room are particularly special. They are the work of 12 children who live in a nearby orphanage.

Mandell regularly hosts the group, which spends several mornings painting with him and having lunch. He also brings his employees into his home for “enrichment groups” where he teaches them to paint. Sharing his joy with others and witnessing the results is a high priority for Mandell. His mentor Wolf Kahn once said, “I want the people looking at my work to feel a sense of all the possibilities of painting, and, through that, in life as a whole. When that happens, I feel I’ve accomplished something useful.”

The ambassador is a great apprentice.

ART IN EMBASSIES

“The Art in Embassies programme reveals the rich history and cultural heritage of the United States and the communal experiences that we share with peoples of different countries, backgrounds and faiths, binding us closer together. Through its temporary exhibitions and permanent collections, the Art in Embassies programme intrigues, educates, and connects--playing an ambassadorial role as important as that served by traditional diplomacy.”

Hillary Rodham Clinton, US Secretary of State

ROBERT MANDELL “Art has the power to connect people”

DECEMBER 2012

27/11/12 11:54 AM

Take a Northern View

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Making it possible Nordea Bank S.A is part of Nordea Group, the leading financial services group in the Nordic and Baltic Sea regions. Nothing in this publication should be construed as an offer, or the solicitation of an offer, to purchase, subscribe to or sell any investment or product, or to engage in any other transaction or provide any kind of financial or banking service in any jurisdiction where Nordea Bank S.A. or any of its affiliates do not have the necessary licence. Some products and services may, due to local regulations, not be available to individuals resident in certain countries and their availability may depend, among other things, on the investment risk profile of persons in receipt of this publication or on any legislation to which they are subject. Published by Nordea Bank S.A., R.C.S. Luxembourg No. B 14.157 , subject to the supervision of the Luxembourg Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (www.cssf.lu). Contact details : 562, rue de Neudorf, L-2220 Luxembourg, Tel +352 43 88 77 77 – Zürich Branch (Reg.no. CH – 0520.9.001.063-7 Zürich) subject to the supervision of the FINMA in Switzerland: Tel +41 44 421 42 42 www.nordeaprivatebanking.com.

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