Launched for the start of the EU presidency in 2015, this pilot scheme allowed shops to open every Sunday to make the capital more attractive for tourists. Previously, shops were only allowed to open every first Sunday of the month from April to November, in addition to 8 other Sundays. The government had given a derogation from these regulations.

An empirical study showed that only 20 shops, 11 in the upper town (ville haute) and 9 near the train station actually took the opportunity.

Minister for the economy Etienne Schneider argued in his response to MP Laurent Mosar’s parliamentary question on 8 May that this could not be described as a success, and hence a media campaign that Luxembourg was “open for business on Sundays” would have been inopportune. Furthermore, the UCVL did not prepare a concept to promote or extend the participation of shops to open on Sundays. Therefore, it was decided not to extend the pilot scheme in September 2016.

However, the Ville de Luxembourg and the UCVL have since asked again for the derogation for 2017. They have elaborated a new concept to encourage businesses to open on Sundays and it has been granted from 2 April to 5 November 2017.