On 15 January, FEDIL was delighted to welcome close to 900 guests to Luxexpo for its traditional New Year’s Reception. At this flagship event for the Luxembourg business community, a large number of representatives of the federation’s member companies, as well as a number of key figures from the economic, political and institutional spheres, came together for the evening to receive FEDIL’s New Year’s greetings and, above all, to listen to the messages and concerns of the industrial and entrepreneurial world in the face of the many challenges facing economic players.
The various speeches were made in front of a large audience of ministers, former ministers, members of national and European parliaments as well as ambassadors. The evening was moderated by Natasha Ehrmann.
After welcoming the guests, including Prime Minister Luc Frieden and the evening’s keynote speaker Adel Al-Saleh, CEO of SES, FEDIL Chairman Georges Rassel set out in his speech the concerns of businesses in the face of the huge challenges of the present and exposed following key claims, his message being reproduced in full below:
- Competitiveness is under threat from persistent overregulation: Despite recent adjustments, EU legislation will continue to impose heavy burdens on companies. Simplification alone is insufficient; structurally flawed laws should be withdrawn rather than merely streamlined. We must enter a “erase and rewind” scenario.
- Europe risks missing the digital transformation window: Regulatory overload is stifling innovation and speed. Europe must move from “thinking digital” to “building digital,” prioritising infrastructure, delivery, and industrial-scale execution.
- Energy cost competitiveness remains a decisive factor for industry: While national measures have eased some pressure, European industry still faces a significant cost gap versus global competitors. Affordable, low-carbon electricity is essential to achieving industrial, digital, and climate objectives without triggering deindustrialisation.
- Climate policy must be rebalanced to avoid economic and social backlash: Current instruments (ETS, CBAM) raise costs without restoring competitiveness or securing export markets. Without deeper reforms and massive investment, Europe risks meeting climate targets mainly through industrial decline and job losses.
- Openness and strategic autonomy must be reconciled pragmatically: In a context of geopolitical tension and weaponised trade, Europe should favour competitive European solutions over imposed protectionism, while selectively safeguarding strategic interests where security and sovereignty are at stake.
- Luxembourg’s social and economic model requires realistic reform: Pension sustainability, housing market dysfunction, and strained social dialogue threaten long-term stability. Growth, investment, and constructive dialogue are indispensable to preserving social cohesion and confidence.
Following Georges Rassel’s engaging address, the evening was punctuated by an excellent keynote speech from Adel Al-Saleh, CEO of SES, on “Space as a Driver for Continued Growth – Transforming the Industry for Bigger Impact & Value Creation”.
He captivated his audience as he outlined the remarkable transformation the global space industry went through, emphasized Luxembourg’s influence, shared his perspective on future developments, and presented SES’s approach as a leading provider of advanced space solutions.
The official part ended with a speech by Prime Minister Luc Frieden. He declared 2026 to become the “Year of Competitiveness,” framing it as a national priority rather than a slogan – essential for jobs, growth and maintaining the country’s edge amid intense global competition. Competitiveness, he emphasised, is about survival in a changing world, reinforcing that businesses create and sustain jobs that underpin Luxembourg’s prosperity. He highlighted the importance of open markets, particularly completing the EU Single Market and preserving free trade as pillars of Luxembourg’s economic model. Frieden stressed policy predictability and stability – including robust social dialogue, fiscal discipline and long-term policy continuity – as competitive advantages that make Luxembourg attractive to companies and investors. In his closing remarks, he offered explicit government support to industry, signalling political resolve behind competitiveness, innovation and openness in the face of global economic complexity.
The evening ended with a cocktail reception and a pleasant moment of networking, much appreciated by all!
FEDIL would like to extend its warmest thanks to the sponsors who made a major contribution to the success of our New Year’s reception: BGL BNP Paribas – Groupe Foyer – LuxConnect – Office du Ducroire Luxembourg – Société Nationale de Crédit et d’Investissement – Landewyck – Amazon – Losch Luxembourg – LuxAirport – Bexeb – Ferrero – Luxexpo the Box – Codex – Imprimerie Centrale.
Adel Al-Saleh: Space as a Driver for Continued Growth
We welcomed Adel Al-Saleh, CEO of SES, as the keynote speaker at our New Year’s reception, and took this opportunity to ask him three key questions about the future and challenges of the space industry. His perspectives provide a comprehensive overview that reflects the substance of his keynote address.
Looking ahead, how do you foresee the space sector evolving over the next 20 to 50 years, and what strategic role will SES play in shaping this future landscape?
Space will keep expanding in size and scope, transforming how we live and work. According to even cautious projections, we’re going from doubling the industry size over the last 10 years to at least tripling it over the next 10 years, and likely even more.
However, the focus will shift. Up until now, the industry has been supporting the usage of space for activities on Earth, such as communications and monitoring. These activities will continue to grow and expand. In addition to supporting activities on Earth, we will see development of a new dimension that will include activities and new applications that are space focused. Infrastructures and industries will expand into space, we’ll see more of the computing activities moving there, and there are numerous projects already in motion – such as developments of datacenters in space to support greater amounts of data generated directly there. Expect breakthroughs in other areas as well.
At SES, we have been building space infrastructure and providing connectivity for the past several decades. As space continues to expand, so will we. For example, our next generation of satellites will be equipped with optical communication payloads that will enable ultra-high throughput, up to 100 Gbps, connectivity within space over very long distances. Our systems will be able to provide the communications backbone for space-based missions be it data centers, earth-observation constellations, government space domain awareness missions, space stations, space travel and industrialization of space.
What do you identify as the most pressing challenges facing the space industry today and in the near future, and how is SES preparing to address these risks and stay ahead of the curve?
Among the main risks, there is a danger of being swamped by a LEO-only mentality, as we are seeing the rise of mega-LEO with hyperscale operators launching thousands of satellites into Low-Earth Orbit. LEO networks are important, however, what is needed is a multi-orbit network architecture. Space networks of the future must be resilient and dense, with multi-layered architectures, just like the terrestrial networks. Multiple orbit networks give you this architecture, and this is exactly what we are doing today, and factoring it into the future networks.
Second, dependency on traditional supply chain partners. The speed of innovation and disruption in the space supply chain is very tough, and it is accelerating. The traditional supply chain must change; it must reinvent itself leveraging enormous past experience. It must become more flexible, more agile and focus more on evolving technologies faster. New Space will be a key element for reinventing and developing technology that is reusable, delivered quickly and on time, and at a fraction of the cost.
Fragmentation of the world driven by geopolitical changes is another risk, and a challenge that needs to be tackled. Space by its nature is global, it requires an ecosystem that enables innovation, collaboration and coordination. We need to learn from each other and leapfrog each other’s developments – that is what continues to drive innovation.
The threat of stifling regulations. We need better regulatory frameworks, that favour the space economy, globally. Governments around the world must coordinate and collaborate on space laws and regulations. A fragmented space regulatory framework will make it very difficult for global operators like us to compete and drive efficiencies.
Another challenge would be not having access to competitive capital to support our investments. For example, we have seen many of the most talented Europeans migrate due to a lack of capital.
SES’ vision is to become an advanced space solutions company. This requires us to evolve and transform. We already have a multi-orbit network and need to continually evolve it. Today we are developing our next-generation MEO capabilities, to scale the network design into a network of networks that can enable space situational awareness, space-based compute for data processing, and more. We are transforming our supply chain to enable us to execute faster and lower the cost of our infrastructure.
We are actively working with the New Space companies to help us get there, as well as fostering a multi-national supply chain, combining the best of Europe, the U.S., and other locations around the world.
It is important to us to support the development of a next generation space solutions industrial eco-system centered in Luxembourg. We are enthusiastic about building on the Space Campus concept. It resonates with our ideas of verticalizing upstream, while focusing on key growth areas and customers, such as government. Having relevant, and our own capabilities in Luxembourg, will help us better control the future of our business.
Luxembourg, with SES and other key industry players, has secured a leading position in space innovation. In your view, how might Luxembourg’s influence in the global space sector develop further? What unique strengths does the country possess, and what specific measures should be implemented to reinforce its leadership in this field?
Luxembourg has done a tremendous job leading in space, particularly within the EU. We need to continue investing in initiatives like the Space Campus, building an industrial base in Luxembourg, and fostering public-private ventures. At the same time, we should be open to skills development and consider importing the right expertise. Luxembourg is well poised to serve as an anchor within the broader innovation network, leveraging global talent and technology. There’s a supply chain we need to industrialize, and Luxembourg as SES’ headquarters will benefit from this.
Luxembourg can play a key role in helping create a favorable regulatory environment that truly works for global providers, attracts capital and drives innovation. The Grand Duchy is well placed to champion this on the global stage.
Finally, public-private partnerships and other models that help de-risk private sector investment initiatives, will be playing an increasingly game-changing role, and should continue.
Georges Rassel: Erase and Rewind
Mr President of the Chamber of Deputies,
Mr Prime Minister,
Members of the Government,
Members of Parliament,
Members of the European Parliament,
Madam Mayor of the City of Luxembourg,
Excellencies,
Esteemed members of FEDIL,
Dear guests,
Welcome to FEDIL’s New Year Reception. I am glad to see so many guests tonight at our traditional event. I hope you will have a very pleasant evening here with us.
A special welcome to Prime Minister Luc Frieden, who has once again taken the time to be here this year. We look forward to his address to the business community present and hope for insights into national, European, and international issues that concern us, as well as an outlook on the challenges the government intends to tackle.
Another special welcome to Adel Al-Saleh, CEO of SES – the former Luxembourg start-up that has become a global satellite powerhouse after the acquisition of Intelsat last year. Furthermore, SES has also announced investments in manufacturing here in Luxembourg, a decision well noticed here at FEDIL. We are eagerly awaiting Adel’s keynote speech on “Space as a Driver for Continued Growth.”
Ladies and gentlemen,
As every year, this occasion serves as an excellent opportunity to celebrate our achievements, reflect on areas where we can improve, and consider the challenges and opportunities ahead.
Over the past year, we have navigated an evolving international framework, particularly regarding trade policy and political initiatives that impact our supply chains. At FEDIL, we have strengthened our team around international relations and trade policy, enhancing our ability to represent and inform our members. One highlight in this area was our successful FEDIL Industry Day in September, which brought these issues to the forefront.
The drive towards technological transformation, propelled by digitization and notably artificial intelligence, opens the door to huge opportunities, but it also raises new questions in areas such as HR or cybersecurity. Our members have expressed a clear need for greater knowledge and access to shared references and experiences. In response, FEDIL has provided valued platforms such as the Digital and Innovation meet-ups and the FEDIL AI Forum that are widely used by our members. As regards the legislative tech agenda, we have worked on numerous legislative initiatives designed to guide digital transformation. Presently, we are focusing on omnibus proposals intended to address and correct instances where rules and reporting obligations have been excessive.
This brings me to one of our flagship files in 2025: the EU Commission’s omnibus 1 package, aimed at simplifying and aligning recent EU-legislation in the area of sustainability, such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive or the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. FEDIL has devoted significant effort to supporting a harmonized set of European rules. First feedback from major international trading partners highlighted that Europe can no longer impose all its regulations on them. Accordingly, we underlined that our companies should neither be exposed to unmanageable risks nor to unjustifiable legal uncertainties. We are pleased to note that substantial improvements have been made to the initial legislative texts. A hard-fought but necessary accomplishment.
On the energy front, while market developments have led to slight relaxation, the cost gap with our global competitors remains substantial. Nevertheless, we have made notable progress at the national level, strengthening our dialogue and cooperation with the relevant ministry. At the close of last year, a unanimous parliamentary vote approved financial intervention in the electricity grid. This illustrates the political will to use national leeway to ease the burden on energy consumers. Our members but surely also all private consumers appreciate this step. We have also advanced discussions towards a fairer approach to Emissions Trading System costs, although further work remains. We are all aware that achieving the country’s industrial, digital, and climate ambitions largely depends on the availability of sufficient quantities of affordable, low-carbon electricity. And it’s no secret either that the question of energy cost competitiveness remains critical for our companies exposed to international competition. FEDIL is keen to go on working with relevant parties to further reduce the energy bills of our businesses in the context of energy transition.
We are encouraged by recent successes in attracting additional industrial investments. Although this remains challenging, we firmly believe that robust framework conditions and rapid, pragmatic responses are key to continued progress.
Defense has emerged as a new driver. We are glad to see that the government is supportive of new promising initiatives in that area. More generally, industrial innovation – particularly achieving shorter times to market and offering quick, plug-and-play solutions – is being constructively addressed within the Haut Comité pour l’Industrie.
Dear guests, these are some major achievements I wanted to highlight, and that have contributed to our progress in 2025. Let me move over to an ongoing issue of the utmost importance to many companies:
Last year, we discussed the problem of overregulation with our keynote speaker Mrs. Roberta Metsola and we made a call for a “regulatory holiday.” Simplification is not an answer to everything. Bad legislation remains bad legislation and simplifying it does not resolve its fundamental flaws. Hence, poor laws should be abandoned altogether.
Here we must enter an “erase and rewind” scenario. “Erase and rewind”, not only a well-known song by the Cardigans but also a good recipe for politicians who want to lead Europe out of some regulatory dead ends. Some policymakers may feel that they recently managed to reverse the trend of overregulation and rising costs, compared to a baseline situation that was frankly untenable. And it’s true, some regulations have been made more digest. However, businesses will only be concretely confronted with these texts in the coming months and years. As a matter of fact, new directives or regulations – including CSDDD, CSRD, deforestation, pay transparency, to quote only a few – are still to enter into force. Accordingly, and despite corrections regarding overregulation, 2026 and 2027 will still bring exceptional burdens to our companies. Therefore, we must guard against complacency. Indeed, we haven’t gotten any further than the first few rows of trees in thinning the forest.
A next row is about to be addressed by the digital omnibus which is aiming at simplifying the digital regulatory landscape. Europe is at risk of missing the digital train of the 21st century. “Stop the clock” initiatives and a little cosmetic correction will not do the trick.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The time where Europe must simply think digital is over. Europe must build digital. It must do so massively and quickly, while continuing to cooperate with its partners abroad. But first and foremost, Europe must stop over-regulating digital and hampering innovation in that area. The legislative process surrounding the digital omnibus is a big opportunity, but – if handled badly – it could turn out to be counterproductive in the end. Are we going to break the clock or are we going to fix the thing? That is the question for 2026, it seems to me.
Mrs von der Leyen’s vision for Europe to have a leading role in tech industry is much welcome. The ability to produce successful showcases, to outperform competitors and to assure a lasting technological, economic and social footprint, that’s what makes up a leading role. When it comes to the tech industry, leading policy makers should be ambitiously active indeed, rather than offended reactive.
FEDIL will continue to advocate in favor of an internationally minded digital landscape where real-world simplification and delivery are key. Not just words. And delivery is not limited to the regulatory part, but also to the infrastructural part. The EU must deliver. The Governments must deliver. And the private sector must deliver as well. We are confident the Luxembourg Government shares our views, and a number of initiatives taken in the last years show that it does indeed. Luxprovide and Meluxina are just two examples here, and we are looking forward to the continuation of our positive cooperation in 2026. Again, FEDIL likes concrete delivery, not so much high-level talk – except once a year, and that is today.
Prime Minister, dear guests,
Europe faces significant challenges. We must ask whether its decision-making processes are still fit for purpose in confronting them. Issues such as the never-ending Mercosur-story, the slow and insufficient implementation of Draghi and Letta’s widely accepted recommendations, disparities in the defense sector, and delayed responses to clear commercial or even security threats; these are all causes for concern. We need a commitment to not just recognize the challenges but actively work towards addressing them.
It is encouraging that Luxembourg is among the countries advocating for competitiveness and more ambition in completing the internal market and in simplification. Dear Luc, FEDIL wants to thank the government for its constructive and positive role in that endeavour.
Ladies and gentlemen,
There is considerable diversity in how the different EU Member States experience and address economic challenges and the costs associated with their social welfare systems. It is evident that some governments are struggling to cope, have become increasingly fragile and, as a result of deteriorating economic performances, are witnessing a rise in support for extreme parties. In addition, the global context is becoming more and more challenging. Sadly, if we extrapolate all those internal and geopolitical tendencies from recent years, it appears that the European Union’s most difficult test for achieving sustainable peace and welfare for all citizens on our continent, still lies ahead.
From a business point of view, competitiveness and investment must become top priorities again.
The largely acclaimed Draghi report leaves no doubt about that. But then it is rather alarming to read how, even now at highest political levels, some people are still convinced that what they believe are European « vertues » such as heavy regulation, strict climate targets or tight anti-merger rules would promote Europe’s competitiveness. « No, no, no » once said a former British Prime Minister in another context, but expressing the same disagreement, which I would also like to make clear here.
Don’t understand me wrong: I am not saying that the underlying political goals and some related rules are unnecessary, but they are far from improving our chances for economic success. Let me explain this using the example of climate neutrality in industry.
Here, the low hanging fruits have been reaped. Investments that are supposed to be made now expose energy-intensive European companies to higher operating costs. The carbon border adjustment mechanism has not been introduced because European industry has become more competitive! This tool, or other protective measures are welcomed by exposed industries, but let’s be clear: They increase prices on the European market for other industries and eventually for end consumers and, as they stand, they do not even tackle our weakened position on export markets. The fact is that Europe’s industrial investment climate and its industrial ambitions have been so weak in recent years that the potential opportunities of energy transition have barely been seized here. We all know who supplies our batteries, our solar panels and an increasing part of our wind turbines. We know who sits on the basic raw materials that feed the transition. Let’s take greater control of our industrial future in this sector. Huge amounts of public money are and will have to be mobilized in the coming years for Europe’s pioneering role in an area where we urgently need global action. It’s the price to pay if we want to avoid reaching our lower emission targets mainly through deindustrialization on our continent, with all the negative impact on our employment and social welfare system.
Prime Minister,
Your government is preparing to produce a social climate plan to address the potential effects of the CO2 costs introduced by ETS2. Fine, but I am sure you know that, at the end of the day, the social cost of an insufficiently reformed ETS1 or a failed energy transition at the European level is many times greater than what ETS2 could ever cause. We urge you to support rapid and sufficient reforms of existing European climate policy instruments affecting industry if we want to avoid climate social plans of another kind.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I cannot touch upon the broader political context without mentioning tenser international relations, open conflicts in which rules and conventions mean little and the power of the stronger increasingly prevails. This regrettable new approach is also affecting international trade relations. When these relations are weaponized in a global power game, Europe finds itself in an uncomfortable position as it comprises some important Member States that rely on exports and want to remain open, while others plead in favor of more protectionist measures. The recent trade deal that has been struck with the US, is far from being perfect and certainly needs additional adjustments on products such as steel and aluminium, but business in general prefers it to a vacuum situation, where unpredictable decisions can deteriorate the tariff framework at any time.
Openness is one of FEDIL’s values and it is also part of our nation branding. These days we are invited to position ourselves on questions such as European preference and industrial or digital sovereignty. Ideally, both would be the outcome of a convincing and affordable, thus competitive European offer, rather than imposed choices. But there might be cases where Europe has an interest in prioritizing local content anyhow. FEDIL will take position on these issues by weighing new security and sovereignty needs and opportunities with possible economic constraints and with the strong desire to continue cooperation with our foreign partners some of which proudly call Luxembourg their home or base for Europe.
In the long run, our common approach should focus on building up strengths rather than covering up weaknesses. Corrective measures and the building up of a stronger Europe presuppose that its decision-takers acknowledge existing problems and undesirable developments at EU level and in the different Member States as far as these problems and developments affect the Union’s chances of success.
Leadership, unity and speed is what must be built up rapidly if we want to face the upcoming decades under the blue flag with yellow stars, each star representing a Member State supportive of the European project and its competitiveness agenda. This means that performing national reforms will be necessary to keep it on board. To keep it on board of a journey through turbulent times. A promising journey if we roll up our sleeves and stick together.
Prime Minister, ladies and gentlemen,
Turning to Luxembourg, I am sure you all agree with me that the financial aspects of the social security system as well as social dialogue remain crucial topics.
Parliamentary debates and worries, increasingly stronger, expressed by young people indicate that the outcome of the social roundtables on pensions falls short of expectations. Prime Minister, you have managed to introduce the principle of working longer, although cautiously. In Germany, discussions are centered around the unaffordability of retirement at the average age of 64,5 and we would be fortunate to move closer to 61 or 62 over the next five years, provided newly introduced incentives will prove to be effective.
We all recognize that the measures now adopted in December have only gained very limited time before another deficit emerges. We hope that all political parties will clarify their positions ahead of the next election, enabling a well-founded decision by a new majority. Consultation with interested parties is welcome, but the ultimate decision must be made and upheld by the next ruling coalition, considering financial means, social equity and economic attractiveness. We trust that politicians have learnt the lessons. A repeat of the “summer 2025” approach would likely prove unconstructive, inconclusive, politically damaging, and harmful to social dialogue in the country.
I believe we can agree, far beyond the corporate world, that the recent statements of trade union leaders have been somewhat exaggerated. The class conflict presented by unions does not reflect our social reality. For our companies, the workforce is a vital asset. How can anyone believe that the employers in this room treat their employees in the manner union leaders have recently suggested in their pamphlets or in their speeches? It has certainly been contrary to the image we all wish to project, including in the interests of working people.
All sides must return to a respectful and constructive social dialogue if we are to revive the virtues of the Luxembourg social model. This requires facing reality and identifying intelligent, sustainable long-term solutions to uncomfortable problems, ideally implementing them jointly. In doing so, we will relieve political decision-makers of a significant burden, and we will all contribute to the stability and performance that have defined our country over the last decades and that distinguish us from neighboring countries. Because stability will be essential if Luxembourg is to make the most of its opportunities.
If we want to maintain even a remotely similar level of today’s social benefits in this country, then we must build upon our assets and values to reach sufficient growth as quickly as possible. Today’s macroeconomic figures and forecasts show that additional stimulus is required. In this respect, the weakening, or should I say toxic situation in the housing sector must continue to be addressed as a priority. The future economic potential of the country and its social cohesion are at stake.
An economic upturn, the return to a constructive dialogue regarding the national challenges ahead and corrective action on the key European issues mentioned earlier will restore the confidence of our entrepreneurs.
In that spirit, I wish everyone present a good, successful and above all a healthy New Year 2026.
Thank you.
