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Xavier Bettel, the prime minister, can be seen speaking on TV screens in a broadcast control room during his state of the nation speech to parliament on 26 April 2016. Photo: Chambre des Députés 

The prime minister, Xavier Bettel, will sit on the panel hearing the initiatives, the Chamber of Deputies said this week.

Public petition number 698 called for “Luxembourgish to be the number one administrative and national language for all residents of Luxembourg.” It garnered a record-breaking 14,724 signatures between 12 September and 25 October.

Public petition 725 was entitled: “‘Neen’ zu eiser Mammesprooch als ëischt offiziell Sprooch” (“no” to our mother tongue as the primary official language). It received 5,190 signatures from 25 October to 6 December.

Currently French, German and Luxembourgish are all official languages in the Grand Duchy.

A hearing on petition 698 had already been set last week for 16 January 2017 before the petitions and the institutions committees. On Tuesday, the chamber announced that petition 725 would be debated during the same committee meeting, starting at 2pm.

Proponents of each measure will both have around an hour to make their case. The debates are open to the public and will also be streamed on parliament’s “Chamber TV”.

Bettel and the committee MPs will then debate the motions in a closed-door discussion.

Expats and cross-border commuters, in addition to Luxembourg nationals, can submit and sign petitions to parliament.

Petitions that receive more than 4,500 valid signatures spark a Chamber of Deputies committee hearing. While MPs and the relevant cabinet minister are required to hear from the petitioners, they are not required to take any legislative action following the committee session.