During Pope Francis’ visit to Luxembourg on September 26, Grand Duke Henri, in his capacity as Head of State, offered as an official gift to the Holy Father an 18th century engraving created by Jean-Georges Weiser. The Prime Minister, Luc Frieden, revealed this Monday that “an independent expertise has set the value to be insured for the said engraving at 3,000 euros”, while adding that “if we take into account all the costs (restoration of the engraving, making a box), the official gift amounts to 4,500 euros.
Furthermore, in response to a question asked by LSAP MP Liz Braz, the Prime Minister admitted that “no financial rules govern the value of official gifts offered by the Head of State during state visits” , and that in addition, these official gifts “are systematically charged to the budget of the Grand Duke’s Household”.
Luc Frieden also affirmed that “as it currently stands, neither the obligation to register gifts received from heads of state nor that of registering those offered to heads of state is legally provided for.” Likewise, continues the head of government, “there is no obligation for members of the government to register gifts from national or foreign public persons or entities”, adding that “it is preferable not to attribute of value to gifts offered by foreign dignitaries, in order to avoid inappropriate comparisons.
What does the law say? “When they come from public persons or entities (…) gifts and offers of hospitality which are addressed to members of the government in the exercise of their functions may be accepted” (Grand-ducal decree of March 14, 2022 ). Unless these gifts “risk influencing members of the government” or “could influence their judgment in the context of decision-making”.
Furthermore, if they come from actors carrying out their activity in a competitive sector, they can only be accepted if they “comply with the rules of courtesy and their approximate value does not exceed the amount of 150 euros”. In case of doubt about the value, each minister can request an estimate from the General Secretariat of the Government Council.
All these gifts must be “notified”, “from a value of 100 euros”. It is up to the secretariat of each minister to transmit the data concerned “quarterly” to the ethics committee.
In the 2024 register of gifts and offers of hospitality from members of the government, few gifts declared. We simply learn, for example, that several ministers received a bouquet of flowers from the Fédération Horticole Luxembourgeoise on the occasion of the St. Valentin procession.
Other registers from other years mention bottles, chocolates or even comic books, jars of jam, a pair of sneakers or even a model of an airplane offered to Xavier Bettel then Prime Minister, one of the most spoiled members of the government, with Pierre Gramegna, then Minister of Finance, Lex Delles, Minister of Middle Classes and Tourism, and Romain Schneider, Minister of Agriculture, Viticulture and Rural Development who received many treats to drink and eat. Each time for amounts estimated at less than 150 euros.
