This time next year, it will be all over. The eighth Irish presidency of the Council of the European Union will be complete and, like the other seven, it will have been a great success.
An Irish presidency happens once every 13 and a half years – more than three World Cup cycles. However, unlike the World Cup, Ireland’s qualification as EU president is guaranteed. For six months in 2026 (from 1 July to 31 December), Ireland will be out-front. Lithuania and Greece will support Ireland as part of the so-called “Trio Partnership” alongside the entire EU apparatus, but Ireland will be the lone striker up front.
Does the EU presidency matter?
Is the presidency important? Yes. The rotating presidency, which has operated for the last 68 years, has stood the test of time. It means that every EU Member State gets to be president, which is important in terms of democracy and participation by citizens in the EU project.
The EU presidency matters to a Member State because – to borrow from an English soccer anthem – under the presidency, “the EU is coming home”. The EU can feel abstract and remote. In 2016, 17m Brexit voters in the UK believed that the EU did not matter enough to remain.
The presidency is a tangible way of reminding citizens of the EU and its benefits. The EU needs to continually justify itself to its citizenry. Nothing should be taken for granted. Whether it is uniform phone pricing and chargers, universal health care across the EU or the Erasmus programme for students, the presidency allows the EU to sell its benefits to a country’s population one-on-one.
Admittedly, the presidency has reduced somewhat in importance since the 2009 Lisbon Treaty’s creation of the permanent role of President of the European Council. The current full-time President, Portugal’s António Costa, has been more of a ‘behind the scenes’ president than his three predecessors, but he and his team will do a lot of heavy lifting behind the scenes during the Irish presidency.
What will happen during the presidency?
There will be 230 presidency events in Ireland, while Irish politicians and officials will chair more than 170 Council preparatory meetings, bodies and committees in Brussels. And there will be more. This is a burden on the Irish civil service, but it has always performed exceptionally well, and this time will be no different. Ireland’s full-time diplomatic corps means that their address books are full, connections are strong and preparations assiduous. Presidencies in the second half of the year feel shorter with the summer and Christmas breaks: the central four months of intensity will be fast-paced, while the whole six months will be pressurised.
What can we expect from the Irish presidency?
Irish presidencies in, for example, 1975, 1990, 2004 and 2013 reflect Ireland’s ability to negotiate and find compromises. This is easier because the Irish have invaded no one and are masters of diplomatic and nuanced English.
Ireland’s idea of coupling each of the 26 Irish counties with one of the other 26 EU Member States is clever – the key is to make those links long-lasting.
As the EU gets stronger, rivals around the world grow more concerned about the EU. Self-preservation and self-defence for the EU have never been more important. ‘Getting through the Presidency without doing much damage or being noticed’ may not be an option. Ireland must defend the organisation in which the State has spent more than half of the country’s independent life.
The Member State holding the presidency has the challenge of playing for two teams: the president has to be both the ‘EU referee’ and the national ‘player’. It would be strategically important for the EU and Ireland to brief some stakeholders, particularly in the US, on what the presidency means. For example, when Ireland speaks as EU president, it is speaking for the EU as a whole and not just Ireland. The views of Ireland and the EU may be the same, but for six months from 1 July 2026, Ireland will be speaking as EU president. In a world where subtleties can be lost, this distinction could be important.
Ireland, as president, can propose and push policies but expectations need to be realistic. The EU cannot be reshaped in six months, and Ireland must pick its priorities from a long list. Various businesses and civic society groups have already pitched ideas to Government.
Could the Irish presidency’s agenda be summarised in a few words? The agenda will ebb and flow but one can imagine the list includes (alphabetically): accessions by various states; AI; budget; CAP; China; climate; competitiveness; COP31 in Turkey; cybersecurity; defence; deregulation; development; Draghi Report; drones; economics; enlargement; the European Political Community meeting in Dublin with 47 countries; Gaza; geopolitics; housing; Iran; Israel; jobs; MAGA; Mercosur; mid-term elections in the US; migration; Multiannual Financial Framework; neutrality; Russia; sabotage; security; simplification; single market; social media; Taiwan; tariffs; tax; trade; Ukraine; UK relations; US; US-EU relations; US-Ireland relations. Perhaps, most important of all, expect events – and surprises – still unknown and unknowable.
Beyond these issues, the Irish presidency will be easy!
