📋 Tender Overview
On November 19, 2025, Yuriko Backes, Minister of Mobility and Public Works, met in Berlin with Patrick Schnieder, German Federal Minister of Transport, for their first bilateral meeting, mainly dedicated to cross-border road, rail and river transport. Gallery 1 (l. to r.) Yuriko Backes, Minister of Mobility and Public Works; Patrick Schnieder, Federal Minister of Transport; Francois Delattre, Ambassador of the French Republic in Berlin (c) MMTP Yuriko Backes, Minister of Mobility and Public Works (c) MMTP (from left to right) Yuriko Backes, Minister of Mobility and Public Works; Patrick Schnieder, Federal Minister of Transport; Francois Delattre, Ambassador of the French Republic in Berlin (c) MMTP (from left to right) Yuriko Backes, Minister of Mobility and Public Works; Patrick Schnieder, Federal Minister of Transport (c) MMTP During the working meeting, the minister welcomed the German commitment to the renovation and extension of the Eifel line (Eifelstrecke) and announced the upcoming finalization of a feasibility study for a direct Luxembourg-Mannheim connection via Saarbrucken, which would significantly improve the cross-border mobility of the Luxembourg population and cross-border workers. Along the same lines, the minister mentioned the importance, for Luxembourg, of a better connection to the A64 to relieve the burden on the roads in the Moselle valley. In the field of river navigation, the minister stressed the importance of making progress on the work aimed at doubling the locks on the Moselle. Finally, the two ministers underlined the need to move forward together on strategic issues, such as autonomous driving, in order to harmonize the European regulatory framework. Removal of the toll on the Moselle, a strong signal for competitive and sustainable river navigation Ahead of the meeting, Yuriko Backes exchanged with her German counterpart and with the Ambassador of the French Republic in Berlin, Francois Delattre, representing the Minister of Transport, Philippe Tabarot, on this occasion, the instruments of ratification of the modification of the Moselle treaty. The most important modification concerns the definitive abolition of navigation taxes levied since the inauguration of the great Moselle waterway in 1964. Minister Yuriko Backes underlined: Today is an important day for European inland navigation and in particular for Luxembourg inland navigation. The abolition of these taxes brings notable financial relief for river transport and offers new prospects for growth, investment and attractiveness for the transport of goods, just as for the tri-modal port of Mertert which, as a strategic logistics hub, plays a decisive role in the supply chains of the energy and steel sectors.
