Luxembourg holds 0.15 % of the EU population. Its government is on record against mandatory scanning of private messages, since 10 Jun 2026.
Against Last checked 22 October 2026
What the government has said
“The measures are too intrusive. Client-side scanning could allow the surveillance of all private communications and carries the risk of general mass surveillance, including of people with no link to any offence.”Justice Minister Elisabeth Margue, answer to a parliamentary question reported by L'essentiel, 11 September 2025, translated from French
Receipt: Justice Minister Elisabeth Margue, L'essentiel, 11 Sep 2025
Not in agreement with the mandatory text (Sept 2025). In June 2026 said the legal problems of the presidency's compromise are still not solved.
How it voted in the Council
- Negotiating mandate, 26 November 2025
- yes The Council position adopted in Coreper: voluntary scanning only, no detection orders. Coreper does not publish votes; the split was reported the same day by the Czech news agency CTK.
- Chat Control 1.0, 23 July 2026
- yes The vote that brought back the temporary rules: voluntary scanning of private messages allowed until 3 April 2028.
A government can oppose mandatory scanning and still vote for the voluntary regime. The two are listed separately for that reason. Council votes need 15 states with 65 % of the population; four states with more than 35 % block.
How its MEPs voted
On 9 July 2026 the European Parliament voted on a motion to reject the Council text that brought back voluntary scanning, Chat Control 1.0. Rejection needed 361 votes and got 314, so the text passed. Of the 6 MEPs elected in Luxembourg, 3 voted to reject it, 2 voted against rejection, 0 abstained and 1 did not vote.
- 3 for rejection, that is against voluntary scanning
- 2 against rejection, letting the text pass
- 0 abstained
- 1 did not vote
The government line above concerns mandatory scanning; this vote concerned the voluntary regime. They are different questions, which is why both are shown. Source: roll-call vote 195775 as published by the European Parliament and compiled by HowTheyVote.eu; all 27 delegations side by side on the governments page.
Who decides in Luxembourg
- Minister
- Elisabeth Margue, Minister of Justice; answered the parliamentary question of September 2025. Home Affairs Minister Léon Gloden
- Ministry in charge
- Ministry of Justice; Ministry of Home Affairs
- Permanent representation
- Ambassador Nicolas Mackel, Permanent Representative (Coreper II); Fabien Raum, Deputy Permanent Representative (Coreper I)
- National parliament
- Chambre des Députés: parliamentary question answered by the Justice Minister, reported on 11 Sep 2025 (receipt)
Timeline
- Council vote on Chat Control 1.0, the temporary rules. Luxembourg: yes.
- European Parliament votes on rejecting Chat Control 1.0; the motion fails, the text passes. MEPs elected in Luxembourg: 3 for rejection, 2 against, 0 abstained, 1 did not vote. source
- Recorded as against. Receipt: Justice Minister Elisabeth Margue, L'essentiel, 11 Sep 2025 source
- Council negotiating mandate adopted in Coreper. Luxembourg: yes.
Sources
- Justice Minister Elisabeth Margue, L'essentiel, 11 Sep 2025 (receipt)
- Council minutes, 12 Sep 2025 (‘not in agreement’), via netzpolitik.org
- Council minutes, 10 Jun 2026 (legal problems not solved), via netzpolitik.org
- Permanent Representation of Luxembourg to the EU, organisation chart (25 Feb 2026)
- Method: what the labels mean and where the population shares come from
This page is one of 27 records behind Where the 27 governments stand. Together the governments against hold 32.9 % of the EU population; a blocking minority needs more than 35 %.
Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Data for all 27: JSON · CSV. Found a mistake? Tell us; we correct openly and say what changed.
Cite as: Brussels Record, “Luxembourg: position on Chat Control”, last checked 22 October 2026, https://brusselsrecord.com/member-states/luxembourg/
