Congress President Jean-Claude Frécon met the Grand Duke of Luxembourg on 29 September 2015 on the occasion of the Parliamentary Assembly session. In particular, he mentioned the Grand Duke’s address to the Assembly, especially with regard to the refugee crisis. “You underlined that fear of the unfamiliar is our worst enemy. In this respect, your country is an example for us all! Over the decades, you have treated successive arrivals of migrants as opportunities, not threats”, he said. With regard to local democracy in Luxembourg, the President underlined the excellent co-operation of the country’s authorities with the Congress delegation during the monitoring visit last March, the report on which is to be submitted to the Congress for adoption at its October session. “The level of local democracy is generally very high in Luxembourg, even though, as everywhere, there are still some situations where improvements are possible”, he said. This was the Grand Duke’s second meeting with a Congress President, the first having taken place in March 2014 during Herwig van Staa’s presidency.
