While the meeting of the tripartite coordination committee will start this Friday at 10 am, the agenda of the meeting is still under discussion within the government. It could even be clarified at the very last moment, during a government consultation meeting early this morning, just before the tripartite.

The meeting had originally been by prime minister (DP) around two points: the phasing out of the aid decided in the September agreement (which expires on 31 December 2023)  and compensation for the indexation at the end of 2023--the third of the year--so that it would not be borne by the companies.

But, as demanded by the OGBL, LCGB and CGFP unions, a third point could be addressed: the adaptation of the . A week ago, the introduction of such a measure still seemed highly unlikely, due to disagreement within the coalition. The DP described it as “irresponsible” and déi Gréng considered that it was not a “priority,” preferring more targeted measures.

Adaptation of the scale may be necessary

But under pressure from the three unions, their coalition partner--the LSAP--and the opposition parties, the two majority parties now appear isolated. And in the middle of an election year, sticking to their guns could prove politically risky. The finance minister, (DP), was not mistaken: she described the measure as irresponsible on 20 February on RTL, but seemed much more measured a week later, on 28 February, in an interview with Le Quotidien, saying that she was “open to talking about everything” and that she had “never, as a matter of principle, taken a position against an adaptation” of the scale.

Discussions within the majority to find a consensus have in any case seemed laborious in recent days. At the end of the prime minister had suggested that the agenda would be clarified the next day, during the cabinet meeting--which turned out to be fruitless. Discussions are therefore continuing between the three partners, and probably will until the last moment.

This story was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.