Luxembourg has been selected as the European hub of a proposed multilateral defence bank led by Canada. The project has nine government backers but still requires ratification and capital commitments.
NATO refused summit press accreditation to dozens of Turkish independent and opposition journalists in Ankara, saying it relied on the host government's assessments — prompting a 17-organisation press-freedom rebuke.
President Trump ordered an immediate halt to all US trade with Spain on 8 July 2026, citing Madrid's refusal to hit NATO's 5%-of-GDP spending target and its stance on the Iran war. Spain shrugged the remarks off and the European Commission insisted trade is an EU-wide matter, underscoring the limits of unilateral action against a single member state.
Luxembourg will host the European base of the Canada-led Defence, Security and Resilience Bank, a treaty-based lender backed by nine allies and unveiled at the 2026 NATO summit in Ankara.
President Trump has conditioned the presence of roughly 80,000 US troops in Europe on a deal over Greenland, an explicit linkage that forces European governments to confront how negotiable their American protection has become.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has named Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems as preferred supplier to build up to 12 Type 212CD submarines for the Royal Canadian Navy, beating South Korea's Hanwha Ocean. The deal, worth up to C$60 billion to acquire and more than C$100 billion over its life, ties Canada into a German-Norwegian production line and a NATO fleet of up to 24 identical boats — a signal victory for Europe's rearming defence industry.
Russia struck Kyiv with ballistic and cruise missiles and drones in the early hours of Monday, killing at least eight people and wounding dozens — the second assault on the capital in a week and the last before NATO's 32 leaders meet in Ankara on 7-8 July. The attack sharpens a summit agenda dominated by air defence, a 5% spending pledge and the transatlantic dynamic with Washington — decisions that reach every European capital, Luxembourg included.
Lithuania's leaders have agreed to remove a constitutional ban on nuclear weapons as the country presses to join NATO's nuclear-deterrence posture against Russia, hardening a debate that reaches across the EU.
KNDS, Europe's biggest land-defence group, has postponed its planned Frankfurt and Paris listing, blaming a slump in defence shares. Its €33.1bn order backlog — which includes the Jaguar and Griffon vehicles bound for the Luxembourg army — is unaffected.
German defence-AI and drone maker Helsing is closing in on a roughly $1.2bn funding round at an $18bn valuation, as record venture capital flows into European defence following NATO's 5% spending pledge and the EU's €800bn rearmament drive.
Israel's cabinet voted unanimously on 28 June 2026 to recognise the 1915 Armenian genocide, the first official state act after a century of reticence shaped by ties with Turkey and Azerbaijan. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar called it a moral and historical duty; the resolution now heads to the Knesset. Turkey condemned the move as a political decision designed to cover Israel's own conduct in Gaza.
As Turkey readies to host NATO's leaders in Ankara on 7-8 July, it has detained more than 200 critics and banned all protests, drawing condemnation from rights groups and renewed questions over its EU candidacy.
Germany's modernised military service law, in force since January 2026, relies on volunteers and mandatory registration while keeping conscription in reserve — part of a Europe-wide rearmament that reaches Luxembourg and NATO.
Luxembourg's all-volunteer army is running a recruitment push fronted by former cycling champion Christine Majerus, now a First Lieutenant, as the rest of Europe debates a return to conscription.
Fifteen years after suspending the draft, Germany has enacted a military-service law that stays voluntary but lets parliament switch on 'needs-based' conscription if too few volunteers come forward — part of a Europe-wide rearmament drive that reaches Luxembourg's own NATO spending commitments.
NATO chief Mark Rutte met Donald Trump at the White House on 24 June to ease transatlantic tensions before the 7-8 July Ankara summit, where the 5%-of-GDP spending pledge, Ukraine and US commitment to the alliance top the agenda.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel has paired a blunt verdict on Russia's invasion — that Moscow 'made a big mistake' — with a call for the EU to re-engage Vladimir Putin directly. Behind the rhetoric, Luxembourg has committed more than €550 million to Ukraine, supported every EU sanctions package and is roughly doubling its defence budget by 2030.
Canadian Defence Minister David McGuinty visited Luxembourg on 19 June 2026, the first trip by a Canadian federal minister in 81 years of diplomatic ties, advancing defence cooperation as Europe and Canada deepen security links.
At a NATO defence ministers' meeting in Brussels on 18 June 2026, Luxembourg pledged an additional $30 million (about €26 million) to the alliance's Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List, which buys US-made weapons for Kyiv. The commitment lands as Luxembourg charts a fourfold rise in defence spending by 2035 toward NATO's new 5% target.
Canadian Defence Minister David McGuinty made the first visit by a member of his country's federal government to Luxembourg in 81 years on Friday, deepening ties as the transatlantic alliance scrambles to fund rearmament. The trip sits against a thickening web of allied defence finance — the EU's €150bn SAFE programme, which Canada has joined; the Luxembourg-based EIB's expanding defence lending; and the proposed Defence, Security and Resilience Bank, which Canada will host.
Luxembourg is landlocked, but its finance and digital economy depend on submarine cables now treated as a front line. Here is the Grand Duchy's real stake — and its role.