They will be accompanied by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defense, Didier Reynders, the Minister-President of Wallonia, Elio Di Rupo, the Minister-President of the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region, Rudi Vervoort, Flemish Minister-President Jan Jambon, Minister-President of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation Pierre-Yves Jeholet and Minister-President of the German-speaking Community Oliver Paasch. The official delegation will also bring together senior officials, CEOs and representatives of academic institutions and Belgian media.

Concerned with respect for the environment and wishing to promote sustainable mobility, the Sovereigns chose to  travel to Luxembourg by train, a first in the recent history of State Visits. TRH the Grand Duke Heir and the Grand Duchess Heiress will personally welcome the Sovereigns at Luxembourg Central Station, before the official welcoming ceremony, in front of the Grand Ducal Palace, in the presence of LL.AA.RR. the Grand Duke and the highest Luxembourg authorities.

The Sovereigns and the official delegation will pay tribute to the victims of the Second World War during a ceremony at the Monument National de la Solidarité Luxembourgeoise.

Vertrek vanaf Brussel-Luxemburg station voor de start van het driedaagse staatsbezoek aan het Groothertogdom Luxemburg, met meer dan 200 deelnemers, ontmoetingen op hoog niveau en uiteenlopende ontmoetingen op de agenda. #BELUX2019 @nmbs @CourGrandDucale #BelgianRoyalPalace pic.twitter.com/Ey1TSaqZaN

— Belgian Royal Palace (@MonarchieBe) October 15, 2019

During the afternoon, the King and the Queen will receive in audience the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Mr. Fernand Etgen, the Prime Minister, Mr. Xavier Bettel, and the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Mr. Jean Asselborn . These high-level political contacts will provide an opportunity to recall the close ties between Belgium and Luxembourg, based on shared values ​​of peace, democracy, freedom and international cooperation.

The Sovereigns will then follow the streets of the old town, going to the Corniche to admire, from the « most beautiful balcony of Europe », the valley of the Alzette, the lower town of Grund and the Plateau du Rham.

Afterwards they will move to the Hôtel de Ville, where the Sovereigns will walk, and will have the opportunity to meet the Luxembourgers and the Belgian community, invited to be present on this occasion. This walk, accompanied by the Royal Music Guides (BE) and the Military Grand Ducal Music (LU), will be a highlight of this visit that will highlight the friendliness and proximity between the two countries.

The King and Queen will then be received at the Luxembourg Town Hall for an academic session where they will have the opportunity to meet various personalities of the Luxembourg society.

The first day of this State Visit will end with the traditional State Banquet, offered by the Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess in honor of the King and Queen.

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Generally, I am hoping for a high voter turnout across the EU, as the political right of voting is the most important instrument for European citizens to decide on the politicians who will shape the EU in the upcoming five years. Luxembourg is particular in the sense that voting is not only a right of the citizens, but also an obligation. Luxembourg will vote to choose its six Members of the European Parliament. In the cycle of 2014-2019, Christian Socialists (CSV) have had three of the seats, while the Greens, the Socialists (LSAP), and the Democrats (DP) had one seat, respectively. Based on the experiences of the recent parliamentary elections, I predict a more proportional distribution of the seats among the parties.

2. Do you/people in your member state still have faith in the EU to deliver?

As I experience, in Luxembourg, one of the founders of the EU, people have high confidence not only national institutions (i.e. parliament and government), but also in the EU, and support the values on which the EU has been established. In other words, Luxembourg and its society is stable in the sense of supporting the EU and ‘the European idea’. I believe that strengthening the democratic bases of the EU (i.e. creating a stronger common ground for the Member States) is the answer for many of the issues the EU has been facing recently. A crucial part of this is participation. We vote, we choose, and those we choose will have the chance and the responsibility to bring the EU forward to the direction of a stronger democratic framework.

3. Will you be voting? If so, who for (if you are willing to say)?

Yes, I will vote, because I believe that our opinion matters. Democracy is most importantly about the citizens, and so is the EU!

4. Tell us some very brief persona/biographical details about yourself?

I am a Hungarian-born Luxembourgish resident. Currently, I am a doctoral candidate at the University of Luxembourg / Aix-Marseille Université in political science. My research field is the quality of democracy in the EU.

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