Luxembourg, under the spotlight over its `secret` banking system, has defended its `philosophical` choice, denying it is a `tax haven` in a time of global financial instability.

`To equate secret banking with a tax haven doesn`t hold water,` Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said on French television late Tuesday after a critical report by the channel.

Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker urged his country Tuesday to be prepared to debate its banking secrecy laws, under a reform of global financial institutions being pushed by France.

`I cannot share the idea that the whole global financial system has to change but that nothing can move in Luxembourg,` he told members of the national parliament.

Luxembourg will lift its minimum guarantee on people`s bank deposits to 100,000 euros (134,000 dollars) from 20,000 currently, Budget Minister Luc Frieden said on Friday.

`Luxembourg is an international financial centre that gives savers the same protection as neighbouring countries,` he told journalists after a cabinet meeting.

BRUSSELS, Oct 9, 2008 (AFP) - France, Belgium and Luxembourg plan to create a special vehicle to absorb the toxic assets held by the troubled Dexia bank and provide fresh liquidity, Belgium's Le Soir newspaper reported Thursday.

BRUSSELS, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - High-ranking officials from France, Belgium and Luxemborug were to meet late Wednesday to discuss the future of the troubled Franco-Belgian banking group Dexia, diplomatic sources said.

Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme was to meet in the evening with 'Dexia shareholders,' a government spokesman said, without confirming the tripartite talks.

LUXEMBOURG, Oct 5, 2008 (AFP) - The Luxembourg and Belgium governments were searching with an 'international banking group' for a deal to seal the future of the troubled Fortis finance group, Budget Minister Luc Frieden said Sunday.

The minister said Luxembourg planned to remain a shareholder in Fortis Luxembourg, with a veto on strategic decisions.

LUXEMBOURG, Sept 29, 2008 (AFP) - Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker called on Monday for an end to the 'casino game' played on financial markets, where speculation is hitting shares of one European bank after another.

LUXEMBOURG, Sept 28, 2008 (AFP) - Luxembourg is prepared to help Fortis by taking a stake in the troubled Belgian-Dutch financial services group, Luxembourg Budget Minister Luc Frieden said Sunday.

'The Luxembourg state is going to take its responsibilities,' Frieden told Luxembourg television as officials raced against the clock in Brussels to organise help for the group.

LUXEMBOURG, Sept 28, 2008 (AFP) - Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg are prepared to help Fortis by taking a stake in the group if necessary, Luxembourg Budget Minister Luc Frieden said Sunday.

BRUSSELS, Sept 17, 2008 (AFP) - The EU's Lisbon reform treaty will probably not be in place for European elections next year but could come into force in Janaury 2010, Luxembourg's Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said Wednesday.

'I don't think the treaty will be in place in June, when the next European (parliamentary) elections will take place,' he told a forum in Brussels.

LUXEMBOURG, August 26, 2008 (AFP) - European television and radio broadcaster RTL Group said on Tuesday profit rose nearly 17 percent in the first half of the year, but warned the advertising market was shaky.

Europe's biggest broadcaster, which is 90 percent owned by German group Bertelsmann, reported a first half net profit of 338 million euros (496 million dollars).

VIENNA, July 26, 2008 (AFP) - Luxembourg's Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said in an interview on Saturday that Irish voters might rethink their opposition to the EU treaty if European leaders reassured them on key issues.

PARIS, July 7, 2008 (AFP) - A bus carrying nine children from Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium enrolled in a summer language school crashed Monday in southern France, killing one child, police said.

At least two other children were seriously injured in the accident near Greoux-Lesotho-Bains in Provence, according to police.

The chairman of the Eurogroup of finance ministers Jean-Claude Juncker said Friday that a French plan to cut value added tax on oil to help ease fuel prices was not 'preposterous' and should be debated.

The chairman of the Eurogroup of finance ministers Jean-Claude Juncker said Friday that a French plan to cut value added tax on oil to help ease fuel prices was not 'preposterous' and should be debated.

Eurozone chairman Jean-Claude Juncker said Friday that a French plan to cut value added tax on oil to help ease fuel prices was not 'preposterous' and should be debated.

Luxembourg ratified Thursday the European Union's Lisbon Treaty, becoming the 15th of the 27 EU nations to endorse the massive reform package through parliament.

Forty-seven of the 51 deputies present in the 60-seat house voted in favour, while three abstained and only one voted against the treaty, which is meant to streamline the way the EU operates as it expands.

LUXEMBOURG, May 22, 2008 (AFP) - High oil prices and a strong euro are here to stay for some time, the chairman of the Eurogroup of finance ministers said on Thursday.

'We expect oil prices to remain high ... and we think that the euro exchange rate will not evolve in a favourable way in the coming months,' Luxembourg Prime and Finance Minister Jean-Claude Juncker told parliament.

LUXEMBOURG, May 21, 2008 (AFP) - Arcelor Mittal, the world's biggest steelmaker, said on Wednesday it had taken a 14.9-percent stake in Maccarthur Coal of Australia for 604.8 million dollars (384 million euros).

The acquisition was made through stock market transactions between April 24 and May 21.

PARIS, May 5, 2008 (AFP) - Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker is emerging as a early favourite to become the European Union's first president, according to a source close to the French presidency.

With a round of EU horse-trading getting underway to fill the bloc's top jobs next year, some of Europe's top political thoroughbreds are jockeying to secure an early leads.

PARIS, May 5, 2008 (AFP) - Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker is favourite to become the European Union's first president, according to a source close to the French presidency.

Meanwhile, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has wide backing for a second mandate in charge of the EU's executive arm, the same source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

BEIJING, May 5, 2008 (AFP) - Arcelor Mittal, the world's biggest steel maker, is eyeing a stake in China's Angang Steel in its latest foray into the enormous Chinese market, the Financial Times said Monday.

BERLIN, April 22, 2008 (AFP) - European Central Bank governing council member Yves Mersch is surprised that analysts still expect a cut in eurozone interest rates, according to a newspaper interview released on Tuesday.

Meanwhile the head of the French central bank warned that eurozone interest rates could yet rise to stifle inflation.

BERLIN, April 22, 2008 (AFP) - European Central Bank governing council member Yves Mersch is surprised that analysts still expect a cut in eurozone interest rates, according to a newspaper interview released on Tuesday.

JOHANNESBURG, April 21, 2008 (AFP) - The world's biggest steel producer, Luxembourg-based Arcelor Mittal, will buy a 16-percent stake in South African coal producer Coal of Africa (CoAL), CoAL said in a statement on Monday.

BERLIN, March 26, 2008 (AFP) - A fund linked to cooperative German banks has been frozen since July owing to the international financial crisis, a spokesman for their investment bank, Union Investment, said Wednesday.

VATICAN CITY, March 7, 2008 (AFP) - Pope Benedict XVI on Friday discussed Luxembourg's legalisation of euthenasia with the state's prime minister Jean-Claude Junker, a Vatican statement said.

The Vatican said the talks reinforced good relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the Grand Duchy.

LUXEMBOURG, March 5, 2008 (AFP) - European television and radio broadcaster RTL Group reported net profits appreciably down in 2007 at 563 million euros (854 million dollars) due to exceptional losses including a competition fine.

The profits represented a 37 percent drop from 2006's 890 million euros as the group hailed 'another very successful year.'

LUXEMBOURG, Feb 21, 2008 (AFP) - Luxembourg announced Thursday that it has formally recognised Kosovo, becoming the ninth EU nation to do so since Pristina declared independence from Serbia at the weekend.

PARIS, Feb 21, 2008 (AFP) - Arcelor Mittal, the world's biggest steelmaker, announced on Thursday its second price rise in two weeks, saying raw material costs were now at precedented levels after a massive hike in iron ore charges.

PARIS, Feb 21, 2008 (AFP) - Leading world steel producer Arcelor Mittal announced on Thursday a second price rise in two weeks, saying it would increase prices for flat steel in Europe owing to a leap in iron ore costs.

The price rises followed a final agreement on iron ore contracts for this year, the company said.

LUXEMBOURG, Feb 20, 2008 (AFP) - Luxembourg lawmakers adopted late Tuesday a bill legalising euthanasia, priming the Grand Duchy to become the third EU country allowing doctors to help patients end their own lives.

LUXEMBOURG, Feb 13, 2008 (AFP) - Arcelor Mittal, the world's biggest steel group, reported a 30-percent surge in 2007 net profit on Wednesday to a record 10.36 billion dollars (7.5 billion euros), but its shares fell on a cautious forecast for this year.

The performance followed a comparable net profit of 7.9 billion dollars in 2006, the company said in a statement.

LUXEMBOURG, Feb 13, 2008 (AFP) - Arcelor Mittal, the world's largest steel company, reported Wednesday an annual net profit of 10.36 billion dollars (7.5 billion euros) in 2007.

The results represented a 30 percent increase from 2006 when the steelmaker posted a pro forma net profit of 7.9 billion dollars, the company said in a statement.

TOKYO, Feb 7, 2008 (AFP) - The largest Japanese online shopping mall operator Rakuten Inc. said Thursday it will launch a European hub in Luxembourg in March as its first step to expand in the region.

The company hopes to begin services targeting major markets, such as Britain and France, within a few years, said Hiroshi Mikitani, chief executive and chairman of Rakuten.

PARIS, Feb 4, 2008 (AFP) - Economic growth in the European Union will slow this year but there is no risk of recession, the chairman of the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers Jean-Claude Juncker said in an interview Monday.