"Luxembourg remains an open gateway which welcomes foreign investments and trades as well as people from abroad", Luc Frieden said in a speech at the Financial Services and Tax Committees Reception. The event was co-organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Luxembourg (AMCHAM) and the U.S. Embassy.

The Minister for the Treasury and Budget sketched the situation of Luxembourg and its challenges for the 10 to 15 years to come. "Luxembourg and Europe have a special relationship with the USA." Indeed, both the Grand-Duchy and the old continent work closely and co-operate on a daily basis with the United States. They also share the same political values and economic principles. "Our strong views about Europe's future must be discussed with the USA, especially if we share most of the fundamental principles with the USA."

But Luxembourg's insight and key priorities are clear: "We need Europe to sell our products and services all over Europe. Therefore we must continue to be a strong supporter of the European integration." A further integration process is a strong guarantee of security and of political and economic stability. "Therefore, we should strongly encourage the European Union to come up with a new treaty. We also need a strong policy to move forward to this integration."

Thus, the Luxembourg economy can only profit from this integration process. "We need to be open, to be a gateway to Europe and to the world for the financial services." The actual politician and former lawyer knows the leverages: "We continue to believe in the power of the political action; the power of the government has to influence the economy."

A legal frame design is another key element: "Law is a key instrument to make the economic development possible." By building a legal and prospective certainty where the financial environment can find its place. And by implementing a legal frame which is flexible enough to make the texts of law open to several options.

But these political and legal frameworks need concrete supporting resources. "There is a continuous commitment from our Government to develop the country's infrastructure, in order to reinforce its competitiveness." And this applies more particularly for education, transportation, culture, real estate and nature preservation issues.

But one of the main challenges for the next decade is certainly the educational system improvement: more specialized, more international and somehow more elitist. "We need to produce better workforce if we want to have the leadership in the financial services sector."

To rank among the firsts in the world, the financial place also needs expertise it can only find abroad.
"We must make sure that we get the best people from abroad". We must open our laws to legal immigrants who are qualified."

The next 15 years promise to be challenging: "I remain optimistic for the future. But the only way to keep Luxembourg a successful financial place is to take the leadership in the sector.", Luc Frieden concluded.