Among the EU institutions located in Luxembourg are the Court of Justice of the EU, whose buildings are seen reflected in a new building in Luxembourg-Kirchberg. Patricia Pitsch/Maison Moderne

Among the EU institutions located in Luxembourg are the Court of Justice of the EU, whose buildings are seen reflected in a new building in Luxembourg-Kirchberg. Patricia Pitsch/Maison Moderne

Responding to a parliamentary question on Thursday, foreign affairs minister Jean Asselborn (LSAP) cited a comparative study from the European Commission published on 28 October. The study found a 10.5% difference in the cost of living between Brussels and Luxembourg, two host cities of European Union institutions which share the same earnings co-efficient for EU civil servants.

As a result, the 9,000 or so EU officials working in Luxembourg lose purchasing power compared to their colleagues in Brussels. “According to the labour union, the cost of living in the grand duchy weighs heavily on the earnings of EU civil servants and threatens the durability of the institutions installed in the country,” Diane Adehm (CSV) and Martine Hansen (CSV) wrote in their joint question.

Asselborn responded saying that in the government’s point of view, the 10.5% difference in cost of living “justifies the pursuit of reflections related to potential solutions, including the adoption of a corrective coefficient for Luxembourg, which could be adopted to compensate this difference of cost of living.”

In May, Union 4 Unity called for the creation of a housing allowance to top up the purchasing power of EU agents in Luxembourg. It also supported the adjustment of the methodology of the correction coefficients between earnings in Brussels and Luxembourg.