Ireland as the Unifier: what one month of the EU presidency signals for the year

For a country that is notorious for its weather, surely the omens were on Ireland’s side when the sun shone down on Dublin as leaders gathered in the capital city to kick-off Ireland’s 8^th Presidency of the Council of the EU. You cannot judge a Presidency after just one month – even though to some extent I am going to try – but as Brussels’ EU quarter emptied out after the Belgium National Day celebrations on 21^st July, Ireland is already seeing some fruits to its extensive preparation, providing a full menu of meetings, conferences, aims, and ambitions for the second half of the year.

Ireland the unifier

There’s no denying Ireland takes on this role at a time of geopolitical tension and uncertainty. But there’s one thing about the Irish – everyone likes them. From Taoiseach Micheál Martin deciding to continue the tradition of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with US President Donald Trump back in March, through to inviting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the opening ceremony at Dublin Castle, Ireland, and the Irish people, have a unifying effect. Their Presidency’s motto – Ní neart go cur le chéile, “strength with unity” – is very much the front foot they are starting out on.

Some have questioned their ability to remain an “honest broker” on Big Tech and tax, but so far it has offered little more than a wink that says, “we’re watching you”. As a fiercely pro-EU nation that has seen the political and economic benefits of EU membership over the years the main task ahead for Ireland is to achieve consensus on the EU’s next long-term budget.

The main event: the budget

The Multi-Annual Financial Framework (MFF) must be wrapped up before the Presidency concludes on 31^st December. Beyond this, Presidency negotiations will get sucked into national politics, with the French Presidential election in particular looming over the EU’s most fraught negotiation. Like most things in life, it’s (almost) always about the money, and both centre-left and centre-right politicians in France will not want to cede unnecessary ground to the far-right – whether Le Pen is wearing a police tag or not.

The Council reached partial agreement in June 2026 on spending headings for defence, digital infrastructure, and climate resilience, but negotiations on cohesion allocations and the overall budget ceiling remain open and require Ireland to firmly steer discussions in the right direction. A month is too soon to judge, and it is another month gone with no hard MFF progress made. There is a mandate, which hopefully provides a platform for progress, but the clock is certainly ticking and a quick return to the negotiation table will be required as the rentréebegins.

This shouldn’t be too hard (getting around the table, that is) as Ireland has planned to host 22 informal Council of Ministers meetings and around 250 conferences and stakeholder engagements. These will cover something for everyone but will be centred around the three priorities of competitiveness, values, and security.

The three priorities

These three values – alongside the many interlocking legislative and political agendas – are where the rest of the Presidency will be judged, but they also give businesses operating in the EU a clear indication of where Ireland wants to steer its time in the hot seat.

Competitiveness

Ireland’s mission to make the EU more competitive is nothing new, but it matters, and anyone operating in the EU should watch it closely. The tension between “made in Europe” and “made with Europe” will need to be navigated delicately by a country that is home to a lot of non-EU big tech.

I will be fair here – it’s too soon to judge – but solid progress on files like the Industrial Accelerator Act and the Tech Sovereignty package is essential if the Presidency is to be judged a success when the baton passes to Lithuania on 1 January 2027.

Values

An interesting priority for a country that unfortunately took the reins with its reputation under attack. A media investigation in March linked Ireland’s Aughinish Alumina, Europe’s largest alumina refinery, to the Russian economy. The episode predates the Presidency but leaves a bad taste nonetheless.

Regardless, values here is more a matter of political framing than of direct legislative initiatives. Ireland will be in the hot seat when the European Commission comes down (hard?) on Google and others under DSA enforcement. Will the Irish Presidency stand up to any criticism of the EU’s Executive – especially in light of Intel’s recent announcement that it will invest an extra €5B in an Irish chip factory? We shall see…

Security

For a neutral country that is not a member of NATO, making security a Presidency priority reflects the world in which we are living – but it also raises eyebrows about Ireland’s credibility. Continued support for Ukraine, a proposed new European Security Strategy, the White Paper on the Future of European Defence and the associated Defence Readiness Roadmap 2030, plus military mobility, all need to advance in the next 5 months – but can Ireland deliver? This is where Ireland may struggle, and where a helping hand from the European Commission and the European External Action Service might have to be relied upon. For a country with a comparatively low defence spend, limited defence capabilities, and a policy of military neutrality, can it really put defence procurement on the table?

A packed autumn, a tight timeline

For now, it’s time for the summer break in the full knowledge that the legislative agenda will be dense from September to December. The Irish will lead the EU’s political process in Council and from September we will see a packed calendar of Council meetings across Dublin, Cork, Wicklow, Mayo, Limerick and Kerry, an International AI Summit in Dublin in October, and a European Political Community Summit of nearly 50 heads of state and government in November – the largest security operation in the history of the Irish State.

Access Partnership’s global public affairs team will be tracking the Irish Presidency’s agenda from Brussels and other capitals around the world, helping clients stay ahead of the frontier, where technology and policy are being decided together. Our final assessment will come at the close of the term. Until then: here’s to the luck of the Irish, leading Europe.