A busy week for football. Except that the opponents will not be meeting on the pitch, but before the Court of Justice of the European Union. In case C-650/22 Fifa, the European Court of Justice is being asked to rule on whether the current football transfer system complies with European law. Advocate general Maciej Szpunar does not think so, and believes that many of the current rules are contrary to European rules on competition and the free movement of persons. If the CJEU were to follow his conclusions, the whole economy of European football would have to be rethought. The answer will be given on 4 October.

The CJEU will also be examining case C-600/23, in which the Belgian club Royal Football Club Seraing is suing Fifa. The case revolves around two issues: first, whether Fifa is circumventing the application of EU law by resorting to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to settle legal disputes; and second, whether FIFA’s rules on third-party ownership are contrary to EU law. Oral arguments will take place on 1 October. UEFA, the Belgian Football Union and FIFPro (the world football players’ union) are parties to this dispute.

Case C-633/22 Real Madrid Club de Fútbol raises the issue of gagging procedures against the press. The football club had the newspaper Le Monde ordered to pay €390,000 following the publication of an article deemed defamatory. The French courts refused to enforce the judgment on the grounds that it violated French public policy. On 4 October, the CJEU will have to decide whether to take up the case following a preliminary question from the Spanish courts.

The coming week will be a highly political one in the Chamber of Deupites. First of all, Luxembourg MPs will be examining the report by the Inspectorate General of Finance and KPMG on the ‘MALT’ language application, the revelation of which set the Pirates’ powder kegs alight. They will also be examining bill 8246, which amends the rules governing police powers in relation to ‘Platzverweis.’ These changes were made following the controversy surrounding aggressive begging at the start of the Frieden government’s term of office.

The timetable, rules and structure of the new European Commission’s confirmation hearings will also be announced on 3 October.

Monday 30 September

Chamber of Deputies. Members of the committee on budgetary execution receive members of the Inspectorate General of Finance and KPMG to hear their views on the independent report on the ‘MALT’ application, a language application developed for the National Reception office (Office national de l’accueil, ONA) which has raised questions about its funding.

Government. The minister for the economy,  (DP), presents the 2024 tourism report. He will take the opportunity to present the main measures and projects of tourism policy.

European Parliament. Presentation to the subcommittee on health of the European Court of Auditors’ special report entitled “The EU response to the covid-19 pandemic--A generally positive assessment of EU health agencies in unprecedented circumstances” by João Leão, member of the European Court of Auditors.

Tuesday 1 October

Government. Following the adoption of the “once only” project, the digitalisation minister  (DP) presents the latest developments on Guichet.lu and MyGuichet.lu, as well as the public consultation on the decentralisation of the Guichet.lu home page.

France. The new French prime minister, Michel Barnier, gives his big speech to the members of parliament. A balancing act.

Wednesday 2 October

Chamber of Deputies. Members of the home affairs committee will examine law 8369. This bill is part of a drive to simplify administrative procedures in the area of town planning, and provides for an increase in the initial period of validity of planning permission from one year to two years. MPs are expected to adopt a draft report, the final stage before the plenary vote on the text.

They will then turn their attention to dossier 8426, which is intended to supplement the current ‘Platzverweis’ by enabling the police “to remove a person, not only when he or she is obstructing entry to or exit from a building, but also when he or she is behaving in such a way as to disturb public order, obstruct public traffic or prevent the free movement of passers-by on the public highway or annoy them.”

European Parliament. The president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, meets the British prime minister Keir Starmer.

Thursday 3 October

French Chamber of Deputies. Éric Nussbaumer, president of the National Council of the Swiss Confederation, will be received by the members of the bureau and the foreign affairs committee.

European Parliament. The timetable, rules and structure of the confirmation hearings of the new European Commission will be unveiled.

Friday 4 October

Court of Justice of the European Union. The court delivers its decision in case C-650/22 Fifa.

Sunday 6 October

Government. International Geodiversity Day, a Unesco initiative launched at the 41st General Conference in 2021, aims to raise awareness of the protection and sustainable use of our geological treasures.

In Luxembourg, the Mëllerdall Unesco Global Geopark, the Minett Unesco Biosphere, the Luxembourg Commission for Unesco, the Ministry of Culture, the National Museum of Natural History and the Musée de l'Ardoise in Haut-Martelangedes have joined forces to celebrate this special day. The full programme and further information can be found at .

This article was originally published in .