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European Dimension

European capital

Situated between Belgium, France and Germany, Luxembourg finds itself at the crossroads of the continent. Its central location makes it the ideal gateway for conveniently serving the growing European marketplace.

Luxembourg is also at the heart of Europe in a wider sense, as one of the six original founding members of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1951, the forerunner of today's European Union.

The famous Schengen Treaty, that abolishes the controls at common borders among most members of the European Union and some non-EU members, was signed in the eponymous Luxembourg village located on the banks of the Moselle river, in 1985.

As home to several institutions such as the European Court of Justice, the European Court of Auditors, the General Secretariat of the European Parliament, the European Investment Bank, the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg is one of the EU capitals.

The Luxembourg people has been awarded the prestigious Charlemagne prize for their pro-European attitudes in Aix-la-Chapelle in 1986. The same prize was awarded to Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker in 2007.

Since 1958, two Luxembourg politicans have chaired the European Commission: Gaston Thorn (1981-1984) and Jacques Santer (1995-1999). Today, Jean-Claude Juncker chairs the monthly meetings of euro zone finance ministers, called Eurogroup.

Greater Region

Luxembourg is an integral part of the Greater Region, sometimes also known as the Saar-Lor-Lux region. This European cross-border cooperation comprises the French and German speaking parts of Belgium, the French region of Lorraine and the German federal states of Saarland and Rhineland Palatinate. It was created to promote the economic, cultural, touristic and social development of the region.