European Union

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Luxembourg
Country profile
Luxembourg by the numbers: capital, size, population, currency and key facts
Luxembourg is the world's only remaining sovereign Grand Duchy and a founding member of the European Union. As of 1 January 2026, its population reached 690,959, with foreign nationals making up 46.6%. The capital, Luxembourg City, had 137,696 residents at the end of 2025. The country spans just 2,586 km2, uses the euro, and ranks among the world's richest by GDP per capita. This explainer gathers the verified key facts and figures.
By Julia Weber6 June 2026
Culture
European history
Schengen: the tiny Luxembourg village that gave Europe its borderless zone
Schengen is a small wine village on the Moselle where Luxembourg, France and Germany meet. There, on 14 June 1985, five countries signed the Schengen Agreement aboard the boat MS Princesse Marie-Astrid, chosen because it sat at the tripoint of three nations. Today the Schengen Area lets people cross some 29 European countries without border checks. Visitors can tour the European Museum Schengen, board the original boat and see the star-topped columns by the river.
By Léa Schmit6 June 2026
Finance
Money
The digital euro inches closer: what it is, and what it is not
The European Central Bank spent 2026 moving its digital euro from study to trial, inviting banks to join a pilot and pressing lawmakers to pass the enabling regulation. A digital euro would be public money on your phone - a complement to cash, not a replacement - with a cap on how much you can hold and a cash-like privacy mode offline. Here is where the project stands and what it would mean.
By Tom Reuter31 May 2026
Politics
Immigration
One permit, one queue: the EU's new deal for non-EU workers
New EU rules in force across the bloc from 21 May 2026 modernise the "single permit" - the combined work-and-residence authorisation for non-EU nationals. The recast directive promises faster decisions, the freedom to change employer, and a grace period if you lose your job. Here is what changes, and why it matters most in a country as foreign-staffed as Luxembourg.
By Anouk Origer31 May 2026
Tech & Science
Digital identity
The EU wants your ID on your phone by the end of 2026
By the end of 2026, every EU country - Luxembourg included - must offer citizens a Digital Identity Wallet: a free smartphone app to prove who you are and carry official documents. It springs from the eIDAS 2.0 regulation, promises to let you reveal only what a service strictly needs, and is being built in Luxembourg by the public agency INCERT. Here is how it will work.
By Julia Weber31 May 2026
Finance
Banking
Why your bank now checks the name behind every IBAN
Since 9 October 2025, banks across the euro area - Luxembourg included - must run a free "Verification of Payee" check before you confirm a transfer, flagging when the name you typed does not match the IBAN's real account holder. It is part of the EU's Instant Payments Regulation, which also forces banks to offer ten-second transfers at no extra cost. Here is what changed and why.
By Luc Bertemes31 May 2026
Europe
Travel
Schengen goes digital: what EES and ETIAS mean for travel to Europe
The EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) became fully operational on 10 April 2026, replacing passport stamps with biometric records at Schengen's external borders. Its companion, ETIAS - a €20 travel authorisation for visa-exempt visitors - is expected in late 2026. Here is what changes, and how to apply without falling for copycat websites.
By Mathias Faber30 May 2026
World
Foreign policy
At Gymnich, Bettel tests Luxembourg's line on a wider EU foreign-policy agenda
The informal EU foreign ministers' meeting in Limassol put Ukraine, India and Saudi Arabia on an agenda where small states still have to be precise.
By Pierre Hansen29 May 2026
Opinion
Transatlantic Relations
At Harvard, Frieden Tells Europe to Stop Leaning on Washington. Luxembourg Has the Most Riding on It.
Speaking at Harvard on 6 February, Luc Frieden told a European audience the continent can no longer take the United States for granted and must own its economy, energy and security. For Luxembourg — Europe's largest fund domicile and one of its most open economies — his call to build a single capital market and cut external dependency is a matter of direct national interest, not grand strategy.
By Marie-Anne Kayser28 May 2026
Greater Region
Greater Region
Luxembourg Faces a 200-Million-Euro Bill for Frontaliers' Jobless Benefits
An EU revision of social-security rules will shift the cost of unemployment benefits for cross-border workers onto Luxembourg, the country where they work. With frontaliers filling about 47% of its salaried jobs, the Grand Duchy faces an estimated 200 million euros in extra annual cost. It secured a five-year phase-in, extendable to seven, but did not support the text.
By Mathias Faber27 May 2026
Tech & Science
Quantum communication
Luxembourg Joins Four-Nation Bid to Build Europe's Quantum-Secure Sky Links
Luxembourg has joined TransEuroOGS, an 18 million euro EU project to build eight interoperable optical ground stations across Germany, Greece, Ireland and Luxembourg for satellite-based, quantum-secure communication. Co-funded by the Connecting Europe Facility and launched in late April 2026, the 3.5-year effort prepares the ground for quantum satellite missions including SES-led EAGLE-1 within the wider EuroQCI initiative.
By Noah Schreiber24 May 2026
Opinion
Opinion
Luxembourg Recognised Palestine Eight Months Ago. The Map Hasn't Moved.
On 22 September 2025, Luxembourg recognised the State of Palestine, joining a wave of more than 150 countries. Eight months on, the test is sober: no annexation has been halted, the EU has again refused to suspend its trade pact with Israel, and a fragile Gaza ceasefire has stalled. The gesture was right. Its limits are the real story.
By Julia Weber22 May 2026
Europe
Europe
Luxembourg's 2026 EU Presidency Will Foreground Capital Markets Union
Luxembourg used a Brussels keynote to set out a Council presidency built around a relaunched Capital Markets Union, defence financing, and a securitisation rulebook overhaul.
By Marie-Anne Kayser15 May 2026
Europe
EU Diplomacy
EU and Armenia Hold Their First-Ever Summit in Yerevan
On 4–5 May 2026, Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa met Armenian leadership in Yerevan for the first formal EU-Armenia summit. Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended in the margins to discuss a joint EU-Ukraine drone-production deal.
By Marie-Anne Kayser5 May 2026
Europe
Schengen
Germany Extends Border Checks with Luxembourg Through September 2026
Berlin has reauthorised internal Schengen controls on all nine of its land borders, including Luxembourg, until 15 September 2026 — citing migration and security pressures even as routine stationary checkpoints come down.
By Mathias Faber30 April 2026
Politics
Foreign Policy
At Harvard, Frieden Tells Europe to Stop Taking the US for Granted
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.
By Marie-Anne Kayser11 February 2026