Georges Friden representing Luxembourg in London
Georges Friden will be the Grand Duchy’s envoy to London from September. For ten years, he created Luxembourg within the European Union.
Ambassador
Georges Friden will be the Grand Duchy’s envoy to London from September. For ten years, he created Luxembourg within the European Union.
By Valentina Pop
Luxembourg’s ambassador to the European Union, Georges Friden, is stepping down after nearly ten years in the European capital. He will join London, where he will represent the Grand Duchy from September.
On Georges Friden’s office in Brussels is a red mini-fridge marked with the Coca-Cola logo. It’s a parting gift from his staff, as the famous American drink is his favourite, he says.
“The pandemic has threatened solidarity”
Among his other passions is Liverpool football club (as a child he didn’t appreciate ostensibly pro-German comments during a game and decided to support the other team, which had to be Liverpool). He is also a soft spot for European integration and CE. “I’m very consistent in my preferences,” he said.
“Without an open border, we don’t have a functioning healthcare system.”
George Friden
Coming from a small country that was plagued by Franco-German rivalry, Mr Friden says he has always been “very sensitive to the fact that the EU has achieved an astonishing transformation, crucial for the destiny of my country”.
He describes the pandemic as the biggest challenge of his years in Brussels. “The pandemic has threatened a lot of things, including tearing apart solidarity, between citizens, businesses, countries – I was unpleasantly surprised to see how national reflexes returned everywhere in the union.”
“The fact that the virus has jeopardized decades of integration has been a huge disappointment.”
It was, for him, a “frightening experience” when Germany and Belgium closed their borders.
“Without an open border, we don’t have a functioning healthcare system: 40% of our workers cross borders every day. A solution was found for essential workers after a few months, but throughout the pandemic, Luxembourg lived in constant fear of seeing its neighbors at the borders.
Is Europe therefore on the verge of a new ordeal of this type, this time in terms of energy? “I’m afraid we are,” he said, even as an agreement on voluntary gas cuts was reached this week. “We are at a crucial point, are we going to learn from the pandemic and help each other if, for example, some countries have to cut part of their industry? »
Friden sees unity within the EU still largely holding, but admits that “keeping everyone on the same page is a challenge and I suspect Russia is making attempts to divide the EU”.
On Brexit, he said: “It was a huge disappointment, all that investment to build together and then have to take it all apart.”
The return of a financial crisis?
“Brexit has trained the 27 to really value what they will achieve together. The European Commission got a lot of support for the negotiations with London. The threat to EU integration has never been like what we experienced during the pandemic.”
If he had a magic wand and could implement a single EU reform, it would be a truly common migration policy. “The mistrust between the most affected Member States and those further away has not been overcome in all these years. The experience with the Ukrainian refugees hasn’t really changed that, as they are interpreted as a different and temporary phenomenon. But he acknowledges that as the war drags on, it could turn into a more structural phenomenon.
With regard to Italy and the possible return of a financial crisis in the euro zone, Georges Friden is convinced that the measures taken to save the Union’s financial system after the last crisis mean that, this time, the euro zone is better prepared. “I am one of the optimists on this subject”.
republished from the Financial Times
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