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Germany and Luxembourg: Bilateral relations

07.10.2022 - Article

Relations between the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Federal Republic of Germany are close and based on trust, both on the political and economic fronts and in the cultural realm. Members of both the federal and regional governments and parliaments in Luxembourg and Germany are in close contact. There are currently around 13,000 Germans living in Luxembourg, including many with dual nationality. In addition, some 50,500 people commute to the Grand Duchy from Germany every day. This number includes approximately 5000 Luxembourg nationals who live in Germany.

Cross-border cooperation within the Greater Region (a regional association comprising Luxembourg, the neighbouring German Länder Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate, and Belgian and French regions) is particularly important. The Greater Region’s Secretariat is based in Esch-sur-Alzette in Luxembourg.

The air ambulance organisations Luxembourg Air Rescue (LAR) and the DRF Luftrettung were jointly awarded the 2020 Adenauer-de Gaulle Prize for their outstanding cross-border contributions during the COVID-19 crisis.
Following the catastrophic flooding in the Ahr valley in July 2021, air ambulance teams and the Red Cross from Luxembourg spontaneously joined the rescue effort and were involved in assistance measures for a further ten days.

Germany is Luxembourg’s most important economic partner and accounts for approximately 27% of total foreign trade. Also when it comes to services, which dominate Luxembourg’s foreign trade and are worth over five times its value, Germany ranks first with a share of 18%.

Luxembourg has the EU’s highest level of GDP per capita (2021: 131,301 US dollars). This also includes transactions by foreign commuters.

Germany and Luxembourg maintain wide-ranging cultural relations. A bilateral cultural agreement has been in place since 1980.

Germany, France and Luxembourg established the trilateral Institut Pierre Werner in Luxembourg City in 2003. The institute promotes cultural and intellectual dialogue between the three countries, also with the involvement of the Goethe‑Institut.

The University of Luxembourg, which was established only in 2003, is part of the University of the Greater Region network along with five other universities in Germany, France and Belgium. Germany is an attractive study destination for many students from Luxembourg, especially those studying humanities, natural sciences and economic sciences.
A cooperation agreement has been in place between the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) and the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR) since 2009.

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