Étienne Schneider, the deputy prime minister and internal security minister, charged the CSV with posting “fake news” about his police reform bill. Archive picture: Étienne Schneider, on left, is seen speaking at a press conference with Donat Donven, the deputy director general of the Grand Ducal Police, on 6 April 2017. MSI

Étienne Schneider, the deputy prime minister and internal security minister, charged the CSV with posting “fake news” about his police reform bill. Archive picture: Étienne Schneider, on left, is seen speaking at a press conference with Donat Donven, the deputy director general of the Grand Ducal Police, on 6 April 2017. MSI

Schneider, who also holds the home affairs portfolio, held the press conference on a police reform bill on 27 September.

In a statement published shortly afterwards on Wednesday (PDF), the CSV, the largest bloc in parliament, said that they were in favour of the much-needed bill, but also included five points of criticism. A major point referred to eliminating some of the Police Grand-Ducale’s local stations:

“The parliamentary proposal to axe ‘commissariats de proximité’ [neighbourhood police stations] from the law is for the CSV incomprehensible. The CSV fully supports citizen-oriented police and demands, in regard to reality and local demands, that the duties, means and training of the neighbourhood police should be re-defined.”

However, Schneider reacted to the opposition party with a letter that he posted on Twitter on 27 September. He charged the CSV with publishing “fake news”.

https://twitter.com/EtienneSchneide/status/913091344909979648

Schneider stated that the CSV’s claims are based on incorrect information and it showed that the party “didn’t make it until article 2 in their reading of the bill.”

He added that: “with the new reform, neighbourhood work would be part of the duties of every individual police officer and not only of local police stations.”