LUXEMBOURG

A tiny country, Luxembourg's administrative and judicial institutions are often based on pragmatic, ad-hoc decisions rather than established rules.

Small, single-issue political parties are common, although the media gives vastly more attention to the four largest parties. Much official government information is available online.

Civil rights are well protected, and blatant discrimination rare, but courts are overloaded, with case proceedings often badly delayed.

Luxembourg's labor market is unbalanced, with a serious shortage of high-skilled labor and a high supply of unskilled labor.

This is partly due to high minimum wages, which attract workers from nearby states. However, generous unemployment and social security benefits also lead to relatively high unemployment rates.

Tax rates are low, and budget policies fairly stable, providing a competitive business environment.

Social cohesion is highly valued, with wage and social support policies largely preventing poverty and limiting inequalities.

Public health care coverage is universal and well developed, but cost-intensive. Attempts to reduce inefficiencies have stalled. The pension system is stable, but lacks provisions for future risks.

The prominence of single-wage-earner families, encouraged by high salaries, generous family allowances and traditional Catholic gender roles, is changing slowly.

Due to Luxembourg's small size, defense policy is primarily a matter of cooperation with Europe and NATO. The small army takes part in NATO military operations.

With foreign-born residents accounting for 42 percent of the population, integration issues feature prominently in the political debate.

Luxembourg has sharply increased public spending on research in recent years, but education remains problematic.

The school system is ill-designed to handle the large numbers of immigrant children. Recent reforms were diluted by teachers' union pressure.

The country plans to reduce energy consumption in large part by taxing vehicle CO2 emissions.

The prime minister's office is Luxembourg's power center, coordinating government policy and preapproving proposals.

The political culture is characterized by a search for consensus and attempts to avoid conflict. Policy communication is very coherent, coordinated by the prime minister.

No official RIA procedures exist. Expert independent advisers are rare, due to the country's relatively underdeveloped social sciences.

Typically, all government-proposed laws are eventually adopted, in part due to the stable majorities held by recent governing coalitions.

The Constitutional Court is the only significant potential veto holder.

Luxembourg has been slow to adapt its domestic governing structures to match those of the European Union.

This may help account for the country's increasing difficulties in implementing new EU directives.

Self-monitoring is not proactive, usually taking place only after concrete and significant misgivings have been expressed about the performance of parts of the administration.

Recent institutional reforms have not dramatically increased the government's strategic capacity.

Most Luxembourg nationals regard themselves as well informed, although high-quality news broadcasts are rare.

Ministers are quite responsive to parliamentary requests. The parliamentary ombudsman has proved popular.

Party programs are similar, as most parties seek centrist votes. Business and labor groups participate actively in policy-making.