Archive photo shows national day fireworks in Luxembourg City in 2008 Luc Deflorenne

Archive photo shows national day fireworks in Luxembourg City in 2008 Luc Deflorenne

In total five petitions were approved for signature on Thursday or last week.

Among the list is petition 933, calling for a ban on the use and sale of firecrackers and fireworks for New Year’s Eve. In Luxembourg, their use is illegal unless you have received prior permission but generally tolerated between a small timeframe over New Year’s Eve. The petitioner argues that they should be banned for environmental, health and safety reasons.

The author of petition 926 takes the ban further, calling for an end to the practice of fireworks displays on the eve of Luxembourg’s national day (22 June). The petitioner says if communes are removing citizens’ rights to set off fireworks for St Sylvester, then citizens should be able to deny the government the choice to use tax payers’ money to set off fireworks for national day.  

Petition 943 calls for motorists to undergo mandatory bi-annual eye tests and to include the results in their vehicle documents. The petitioner says it could prevent accidents caused by poor vision.

Petition 925 calls for the restoration of bus line 16 so that it serves Avenue JF Kennedy, in Kirchberg, and Findel airport.

Petition 936 asks that people have a choice regarding their surname when they marry in Luxembourg. The petitioner suggests married couples, both men and women, be given the choice to keep their own surname, take their spouse’s surname or create a double-barrelled name from both surnames.

These petitions remain open for signature until 8 March. Anyone may sign a petition in Luxembourg provided they are a registered resident and aged 15 or over. Any petitions garnering 4,500 signatures or more will be debated in parliament. Petition 922, which closes on 2 February, calling for patients to pay doctor fees after the national insurance chunk had been deducted, had already reached over 7,200 signatures at the time of publishing, ensuring it will get a hearing in parliament later this year.

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