The “Economic Affairs” field of activity is a renowned and recognised catalyst at the intersection of socio-economic information and topics related to sustainable development, which gathers, analyses and processes market, economic, sectoral and company positions to convert them into detailed opinions (legislative procedure), recommendations to political authorities and synthetic and educational socio-economic contributions of interest to the general public at large (students, households, employees, pensioners, civil servants, professors, company directors, investors, journalists, media, etc.)
To this end, the main tasks of Economic Affairs are to observe, analyse and comment on the socio-economic environment in which Luxembourg companies operate, as well as to promote the competitive and sustainable development of the Luxembourg economy, which involves four areas of activity:
The articulation of the interests of companies and the Luxembourg economy;
The Economic Affairs Department regularly prepares texts in the form of opinions, position papers or recommendations in order to launch reflection, contribute to public debate or even raise awareness among companies or citizens on topics that directly or indirectly concern the country’s socio-economic environment. In carrying out this mission, the “Economic Affairs” department constantly evaluates the priority actions to be carried out in the interest of the Luxembourg economy and the nationals of the Chamber of Commerce.
The drafting of opinions on draft laws and draft grand-ducal regulations is an important activity of Economic Affairs. The most important annual opinion is the one on the draft law on the State revenue and expenditure budget.
The promotion of a framework conducive to the sustainable and competitive development of the Luxembourg economy;
Economic Affairs participates in the preparation of numerous national, European and international surveys on economic developments and the structural situation of our economy. In this capacity, it collaborates in particular with Eurochambres, the International Institute for Management Development and the World Economic Forum, as well as with STATEC at the national level. He also participates in interviews with representatives of international organisations, such as the European Commission, the OECD, the IMF, the World Bank and representatives of rating agencies.
In order to constantly have at its disposal an efficient and updated set of arguments aimed at promoting Luxembourg among foreign investors, the Economic Affairs Department has set up a competitive monitoring unit, whose main task is to collect a whole battery of macroeconomic, micro-economic, cyclical and structural data on Luxembourg that can be compared with those available abroad.
The promotion of the Luxembourg economy and Luxembourg as an international business centre and as a first-class location for audiences with diverse profiles;
The “Economic Affairs” business area co-organises events and conferences, such as the “Economic Days” or the “Deutsch-Luxemburgische Wirtschaftskonferenz” conference series, organised in collaboration with the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The Economic Affairs staff also regularly appear before audiences with diverse profiles to present and comment on the many facets of the Luxembourg economy: presentations to university students, speeches at conferences, participation in panels and round tables, interviews for the national and foreign press and presentations to foreign delegations.
As part of the Chamber of Commerce’s “School-Business Relations” initiative, which aims to bring the world of education and the world of business closer together, Economic Affairs also participates in various classical and technical high schools in the country through its macroeconomic workshop “L’économie luxembourgeoise : Did you know? The objective of these interventions is twofold: not only to raise students’ awareness of basic economic concepts and illustrate, through concrete examples and discussions, theoretical concepts introduced in school curricula, but also to introduce young people to the Luxembourg economy with all its niche sectors to show them how it can be considered as a diversified and attractive economy at a European and international level.
Assistance, advice and information to companies and the general public;
An important activity of Economic Affairs is to provide information and intelligence to companies, public authorities, the press and individuals. The information and statistics thus disseminated relate in particular to the Luxembourg economy as a whole, national accounts, competitiveness, the Greater Region, the labour market, international economic relations, taxation, public finances, social security and the consumer price index, i.e. a whole set of information and data that enable the various players to guide their choices and carry out their daily actions.
Through the Merkur and its weekly newsletter, the Chamber of Commerce magazine, the Economic Affairs Department constantly tries to inform and raise awareness among nationals about economic news, through well-founded articles, interviews and dossiers.