The report on Luxembourg prepared by ECRI (European Commission against Racism and Intolerance), an independent body of the Council of Europe that monitors these issues, concluded that “foreign children or children of parents of foreign nationality, especially Portuguese, continue to face significant challenges in the field of education”.

In school terms, foreign children or descendants of foreigners, with special emphasis on those of Portuguese origin, are present in greater numbers in technical/vocational education at secondary level and are twice as likely to leave school or training early.

“The conversations that the delegation had with several people during the visit clearly revealed that foreign children or children of foreign parents, particularly Portuguese students, continue to face major challenges in their school career”, reads the ECRI document released by Council of Europe.

The problems identified in relation to the community of Portuguese origin also extend to housing, in which “Afro-descendants and Portuguese people are often discriminated against when looking for accommodation to rent”.

Also in employment, ECRI denounces, “people of immigrant origin, especially of African origin and Portuguese nationality, face discrimination” in Luxembourg.

ECRI highlighted that “xenophobic sentiment” in Luxembourg “increased significantly during the Covid-19 pandemic”, noting that ethnic origin was the most frequent reason for discrimination and that those most targeted were Portuguese citizens.

In this sense, the independent body recommended that the Luxembourg authorities adopt “decisive measures to prevent and combat discrimination against migrants with regard to access to housing; continue efforts to ensure that asylum seekers live in adequate conditions; and grant greater autonomy to beneficiaries of international protection in terms of housing, intensifying support initiatives for people in particularly vulnerable situations during the housing crisis”.

Luxembourg had 645,497 inhabitants in January 2022 and the foreign population represented 47.1% of the total (304,167). The majority (80.8%) of these people were from member states of the European Union, with the Portuguese being the largest community, with 30.8% of this group, ahead of France (16.2%), Italy (7 .9%), Belgium (6.4%) and Germany (4.2%).