Malcolm Byrne
Question:259. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the priorities for Ireland’s presidency of the EU Council of Ministers for July to December 2026. [73368/25]
View answerThursday, 18 December 2025
Questions (259)
Written answers
Ireland will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the eighth time from 1 July to 31 December 2026. This will be an important opportunity for Ireland to lead and shape the European agenda, and the Government has made a firm commitment to resource and deliver a successful Presidency in 2026.
Preparations for the Presidency are well underway, led by my Department, in close coordination with the Department of the Taoiseach, and with the active participation of all Departments across Government.
The priorities and policy programme for our EU Presidency are currently under development. This work is taking account the EU’s Strategic Agenda for 2024-29 and the legislative work programme of the European Commission. Consultations with our European partners will also inform the development of our priorities and policy programme, as will the evolution of the Council’s legislative agenda through the current Presidency term of Denmark (July to December 2025) and that of Cyprus (January to June 2026). The policy objectives we set for our Presidency will also be shaped by our own priorities across an array of areas, including but far from limited to the protection of EU values at home and abroad, the enlargement of the Union, European security, and the competitiveness and simplification agenda, which covers a wide range of areas including housing and the delivery of infrastructure.
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring that stakeholder groups also have their voices heard. A series of consultation meetings with stakeholders from across business, civil society, trade unions and other interest groups has recently taken place and will continue into 2026. A call for written submissions on the development of Ireland’s policy priorities, hosted on gov.ie, was launched on 5 November and closed on 12 December with over 450 submissions received.
I understand that other Government Departments are also engaging in sector-specific Presidency consultations with stakeholder groups. This process will allow consideration to be given to a broad range of different policy issues, from diverse voices throughout Ireland, as our Presidency policy programme is developed.
Following the conclusion of this process, the Government will agree and publish our programme of policy priorities for the Presidency in June 2026, shortly before the start of Ireland's Presidency term.