RTL Today – Your Weekly Recap: What you need to know at the end of this week

• Luxembourg’s population will grow by 27% by 2010.
• Government’s foreign policy criticised by opposition 
• Midterm Elections in the US
• The 27th Climate Summit in Egypt
• Big Tech firings and hiring freezes

1. Luxembourg’s population will increase less than previously projected, as the EU’s population declines and ages.

• Eurostat’s latest projections show the EU’s overall population will fall by 30.8 million people by 2100.

• The number of people over 80 is projected to rise by 14%

• Luxembourg’s population will grow by 27% to reach 781,000 people. The median age will shift from just under 40 to just under 50.

Who will pay for your pension? By 2100 there will be fewer than two persons of working-age for each elderly person in the EU. The pension age could be raised.

Net migration will be the main contributor to population growth for Luxembourg, Malta, Cyprus and other countries expected to keep growing.

8 billion people in the world: The world’s population is expected to cross 8 billion people next week on November 15.

*Graph: population projections for 2013 and 2017 were for 2080.

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Analysis by Christos Floros

2. The CSV accused Minister Jean Asselborn of mismanaging Luxembourg’s foreign policies.

When and where did this all happen? At a heated parliamentary session, after Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister (and Minister for European Affairs) Jean Asselborn presented his statement on foreign policy.

How Asselborn had ended his speech: “Russian President Vladimir Putin’s brutal war in Ukraine has shaken the world and restored the will to defend uncompromising democracy”

Also in the Chamber this week:  the idea of increasing parental leave from 6 to 9 months was discussed, with Minister Corinne Cahen (DP) asking the Chamber how they would imagine financing it, yet suggesting that a more flexible parental leave could be explored.

A hint of a strategy from the CSV ahead of the double election year in 2023: Elisabeth Margue said she believes that the CSV will only put together its lists for the legislative elections after the municipal elections to be able to evaluate how various candidates perform in the local elections.

3. The US voted in midterm elections, a Republican ‘Red Wave’ did not occur, but it looks like they could win control of the House.

Senate control on hold: The race in Georgia will not be decided until a run-off election on 6 December.

“A nation divided deeply over abortion, economics, crime and the shape of representative democracy will have a Congress that reflects those divisions” wrote Jonathan Weisman in the New York Times.

• Midterm elections \u2014 held around two years into a president\u2019s term (hence mid-term) \u2014 are elections that decide control of the US Congress (and many more seats and positions around the US.)
  • The Congress is made up of 2 bodies: the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives.
    • Members of the House are elected for two-year terms, so all 435 seats are decided during the midterm elections.
      • Senators are elected to staggered six-year terms. A third of the 100 seats are up for grabs in any midterm election.
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        4. In Egypt, European leaders promised compensation funds for poor nations hit by climate change at COP27.

        Fractured relations between the United States and China have cast doubt on whether Beijing will sign up to more climate promises, with pressure mounting on the world’s biggest emitter.

        5. Thousands were laid off from tech jobs, with Facebook cutting 13% of its workforce.

        Luxembourg-based Amazon has also stopped hiring: “We anticipate keeping this pause in place for the next few months, and will continue to monitor what we’re seeing in the economy and the business to adjust as we think makes sense,” wrote Beth Galetti, senior VP of People Experience and Technology in a note to employees.

        Apple too, reportedly instituted a hiring freeze of its own in all areas except research and development. Covid lockdowns in China are hurting production of the iPhone 14. Apple stock is down about 25% so far this year.

        Before he was fired: “Our industry is in a very challenging macro environment — right now,” ex Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal had tweeted earlier this year.

        Also: Luxembourg-based tech companies like Amazon could see their cost of operating in Luxembourg increase further next year, as up to 3 wage indexations are projected.

        Climate Change

        And in case you missed it

        Your Weekly Recap is published every Friday at noon. Read earlier versions.

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        Christos Floros covers News and Politics for RTL Today @christosfloros