Bulgaria had previously threatened to veto the EU's 21st sanctions package over the inclusion of Patriarch Kirill and former Lukoil president Vagit Alekperov. In a new development, Italy has now joined Bulgaria in formally objecting to the visa ban on Kirill, citing concerns about sanctioning a Christian denomination leader. The article also details additional disputes among EU member states: Greece, Malta, and Cyprus oppose freezing the $44-per-barrel oil price cap, while France and Italy object to a proposed ban on former Russian combatants entering the EU.

The French defence procurement agency DGA has awarded a €120 million framework contract to Greenerwave to develop and produce a new generation of intelligent satellite communication terminals based on Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS) technology. The terminals will support French forces' connectivity needs, complementing the Syracuse IV and OneWeb constellations, and are designed to be compact, energy-efficient, and cost-effective. This contract, named 'Caméléon', covers engineering from design to production over seven years and aims to replace multiple existing systems.

The French Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA), the defence procurement agency, received its official flag for the first time in a ceremony at Les Invalides on June 30, 2026, presided over by Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin. The flag symbolises the agency's military identity and its role in designing and equipping France's armed forces, marking a historic moment for the organisation created in 1961.