Brussels wants to keep the EU's temporary protection scheme for displaced Ukrainians running until March 2028, with a new restriction barring most newly arriving military-age men. The plan secures the legal status of beneficiaries across the bloc, including in Luxembourg, but leaves the longer-term, post-war framework unresolved.
With the Iran war paused, southern Syria — Israel's buffer zone in Quneitra and Daraa and the Druze crisis around Suwayda — is emerging as the front Europe fears most.
On 23 June 2026 the European Commission and 15 member states received a five-member Taliban delegation in Brussels — the first such meeting — reigniting Europe's debate over how to deal with a regime accused of gender apartheid, a cause long championed by Luxembourg's Grand Duchess Maria Teresa.
Brussels wants to extend temporary protection for people fleeing Ukraine until March 2028 but exclude newly arriving men of fighting age who are barred from leaving under martial law. Kyiv asked for the change to ease its manpower crisis, after it let men aged 18-22 leave and arrivals across the EU surged. The plan pits wartime solidarity against migration politics — and would shape who can claim protection in Luxembourg and the Greater Region.
The EU held its first talks with Taliban officials on European soil on 23 June 2026, focusing on the deportation of Afghan nationals with no right to stay. The Commission and Sweden co-chaired the closed-door meeting with 15 member states; Brussels stressed it does not amount to recognition, as rights groups warned the engagement risks legitimising the regime.
The LUXTALENT study by the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research finds that roughly eight in ten of the foreign workers arriving on Luxembourg's labour market hold a university degree, and nearly nine in ten new entrants in 2024 were born abroad. The findings quantify how the Grand Duchy's prosperity rests on importing skilled labour from across the EU and beyond — even as half of newcomers leave within five years, with housing costs the main reason.