Thierry welcomes Franz Fayot, Minister of the Economy, to the first installment of this two-part session. A passionate social democrat, Franz walks Thierry through his socialist and green roots, and what motivated him to join the government just before the coronavirus crisis broke out in early 2020. They dive into the various challenges that he has faced since the outbreak of the pandemic and how he has steered the economy throughout that period. As the Luxembourg economy is emerging again, Thierry asks the minister about the nature of the economic recovery, and how it ties into his long term goal of addressing environmental issues and the need to adopt a circular economy model. Inevitably, they touch on a very important point which is quite unique to Luxembourg: its strong reliance on crossborder workers and the challenges linked to teleworking (or working from home). With workers from neighbouring countries having more flexibility to stay at home (even temporarily), this creates a series of frictions from a tax agreement and social security perspective. Finally, the minister responds to allegations that the Luxembourg government has been too complacent when it comes to attracting new industrial players. The country is indeed attempting to move away from its over-reliance on the financial services industry.

S2E21 - Rebuilding the Luxembourg economy forward (Part I) | Franz Fayot

Thierry welcomes back Franz Fayot, Minister of the Economy, to the second installment of this two-part session. After discussing the roadmap on how the Luxembourg economy should be rebuilt in a forward-looking fashion, they dive into the pillars that will underpin new growth areas, namely space, cybersecurity and supercomputers (also referred to as high performance computing, HPC). Minister Fayot provides further details on why HPC is essential for Luxembourg to make the best use of data in the digital age and how this will allow the country to achieve its own sustainability targets.

S2E22 - Rebuilding the Luxembourg economy forward (Part II) | Franz Fayot

In this short episode, Thierry and Adrien wrap up Season 2. After another very exciting year, they briefly reflect upon the recent changes in the Luxembourg podcast environment. Then, they give away a few bits and pieces that are currently happening within the LuxUnplugged team and, of course, they talk about the upcoming events pertaining to the podcast. Watch out, a lot of important announcements are in the pipeline! We'll be back after the Summer Holidays!

S2E23 - Happy Summer Break from LuxUnplugged

REPLAY - Thierry welcomes Mike Reiffers, Managing Director and co-founder of Skeeled. They discuss the genesis of Mike's company that he co-founded with his business partner straight after university. Then they dive into how this Luxembourg-based business leverages artificial intelligence, allowing his clients to make better hiring decisions whilst promoting their brand. Finally, Mike shares his tips for everyone aspiring to start up their company in the Grand Duchy.

REPLAY - Recruiting talent in the digital age | Mike Reiffers

Thierry and Adrien welcome Pascale Junker, Head of Luxembourg Strategy, to the show. After walking them through her extensive years in development aid in emerging economies, Pascale discusses the concept of territorial and urban planning and how human infrastructure has become so important on Earth that it's capable of influencing the ecosystem as a whole. Adrien then enquiries about her papers detailing Luxembourg's recommended agenda to reach carbon neutrality in a few decades' time thanks to a complete rethinking of the territorial planning strategy. In the context of climate change, Thierry wonders how the successive Luxembourg governments have handled the climate crisis and what the Luxembourg population needs to do to avert it. Given Luxembourg's extraordinary economic and demographic growth in recent years, and in light of limited resources and space, they dive into the challenges that the grand duchy is likely to face if the local mentality remains unchanged for the foreseeable future. Finally, Pascale provides her view on the forthcoming COP26 conference in Glasgow and what she hopes global leaders will achieve after the summit.

#46 How to reach carbon neutrality with territorial planning | Pascale Junker

Thierry and Adrien welcome back Tokyo Institute of Technology's Kim Schumacher to the show. After briefly discussing his experience as a lecturer in Japan at the height of the covid-19 crisis, Kim extensively explains the purpose of the IPCC report, a paper issued by a body within the United Nations, and what the conclusions of the latest report mean for all the involved stakeholders. Thierry then enquires about the challenges that government officials have faced in light of the covid-19 crisis and what tackling climate change would entail for them to convince their electorate to adapt their lifestyle in a profound fashion. Provocatively, Adrien debates whether fully-fledged democracies and the handling of the climate change crisis are mutually exclusive concepts to make tough decisions that would preserve a population’s long term interests. Finally, Kim walks them through the latest sustainable finance initiatives that he has been involved in Luxembourg where good progress has been made, especially with one of the largest domestic financial institutions.

#47 The practical conclusions from the latest IPCC report | Kim Schumacher

Thierry and Adrien welcome Jean-Claude Juncker, former president of the European Commission, to the show. A globally known figure in political affairs, Jean-Claude Juncker dives into his early days in Luxembourg politics which he preferred to a legal career. They then discuss the political and economic situation in Luxembourg and how the country has evolved from a global financial centre to a more diversified ecosystem. Inevitably, Adrien and Thierry enquire about his views on Luxembourg and its role in European affairs. Drawing a number of parallels with Brexit, of which he oversaw the exit deal negotiation between the European Union and the United Kingdom, Mr Juncker briefly comments on the freedom of movement that comes with the EU membership and the damage that it caused when leaving the Union like the UK did. In line with more recent episodes, Adrien and Thierry speak to the climate change topic where the European Union plays a major role.

#48 Reflections on Luxembourg and the European Union | Jean-Claude Juncker

People from Luxembourg are quite familiar with the country’s discreet approach when it comes to blowing its own trumpet at the global scale. Despite its relatively small geographic print, the Grand Duchy punches well above its weight on the world stage!

This podcast is here to shed light on Luxembourg’s global influence from the perspective of two Luxembourgers living in London.

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