"Muzzle" clause to remain an exception according to Luxembourg city mayor

"Any communication with the press about this project must be done in cooperation with the municipality of Luxembourg." This paragraph in the new convention between the City of Luxembourg and the ASBL "Hëllef um Terrain" (HUT), which was commissioned to take over the activities of Caritas, caused a stir during the municipal council debate on the contract. This was particularly because it was one of the few paragraphs that was not taken directly from the former Caritas contract, but rather added to it.

Councillor Christa Brömmel (déi gréng) said during the municipal council meeting on 16 December 2024 that the clause was close to a "muzzle", which is why she, along with the entire opposition, abstained from voting on the contract. This rarely happens in votes on social issues, which are usually a mere formality.

"As it is not possible to vote on individual sections, but only on the treaty as a whole, we did not want to go along with this, " Brömmel says during a Journal interview. Even during the consultative meeting of the "Action sociale, de l'inclusion et des personnes âgées" commission, in which the first version of the contract was discussed after it had been drawn up by the Service Intervention Sociale of the City of Luxembourg together with the HUT, she had already expressed concerns in this regard and said that "we will not accept it as it is. That's why I asked around in other municipalities to see if there were similar sections in their agreements."