Defence
Luxembourg Issues Tax-Exempt Sovereign Bond to Finance Defence Spending
The Grand Duchy is opening its growing defence budget to private savers, with a new sovereign bond whose interest income is exempt from personal tax.
Politics
Coalition arithmetic, parliamentary debates, the Bettel and Frieden legacies, electoral redistricting, and the ongoing test of how a country of 670,000 people governs an economy of 50 nationalities.
Russia-Ukraine WarRussia and Ukraine Trade Accusations of Breaches During 32-Hour Easter Ceasefire
From 4 p.m. on 11 April through midnight on 12 April 2026, Russia and Ukraine paused fire for Orthodox Easter. Both sides accused each other of hundreds of breaches; US-mediated peace talks have effectively stalled.
AI & energyFour White House Nuclear Executive Orders, Signed in One Day, Aim to Power the US AI Build-Out
The orders compress permitting, expand DOE authority over advanced reactors and underwrite SMR deployment — a single-day push to align the US nuclear regulatory state with AI-driven electricity demand.
LebanonIsrael-Hezbollah Escalation Has Killed 2,500 in Lebanon Since 2 March
Satellite imagery shows southern Lebanese towns being completely levelled in what observers describe as the Gaza playbook applied to Lebanon. Over a million people have been displaced.
Defence SpaceLuxembourg Approves €301 Million GovSat-2 Defence Satellite Programme
The Chamber of Deputies has greenlit a €301 million package to build, launch and operate a second sovereign government and defence communications satellite, deepening the LuxGovSat joint venture with SES.
Foreign PolicyAt Harvard, Frieden Calls for a More Autonomous Europe on Defence, Energy and Capital Markets
Speaking at Harvard's Center for European Studies, Luxembourg's Prime Minister called for a more autonomous Europe — on defence, energy and capital markets — without burning bridges with Washington.
JapanTakaichi Wins Japan's First Two-Thirds Supermajority of the Postwar Era
On 8 February 2026, the LDP under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi won at least 316 seats — Japan's largest single-party haul since 1945. Takaichi succeeds Shigeru Ishiba, who resigned in September 2025 after consecutive electoral losses.
Climate PolicyLuxembourg's carbon price rises to €45 per tonne; rental-renovation depreciation rate raised to 10%
The 2026 budget pushes Luxembourg's CO₂ price one step higher in a planned escalation that began at €20/tonne. The depreciation rate on sustainable energy renovations of rental housing rises from 6% to 10%.
HealthcareAmended Hospital Act Allows Outpatient Sites and Satellite Units for Minor Procedures
Luxembourg's amended Hospital Act, adopted on 18 December 2025, lets providers open additional outpatient sites and 'satellite service units' for minor procedures, and creates a new National Central Purchasing and Logistics Agency.
MonarchyAfter 25 Years on the Throne, Grand Duke Henri Hands the Crown to Guillaume V
On 3 October 2025, Henri signed the Act of Abdication at the Grand Ducal Palace in front of the Belgian and Dutch monarchs, and his son Guillaume was sworn in as Grand Duke at the Chamber of Deputies the same day.