Michael Cahill
Ceist:23. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade for a report on most recent meeting of the EU General Affairs Council. [50265/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThursday, 2 July 2026
Ceisteanna (23)
Freagraí scríofa
Minister Byrne attended the final meeting of the General Affairs Council (GAC) of the Cyprus Presidency in Luxembourg on 16 June. He discussed the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2028-2034 with the other Member States, which agreed a partial general approach on three key elements: the National and Regional Partnership Plans (NRPP), European Competitiveness Fund (ECF) and Global Europe Regulations. Alongside his General Affairs Council counterparts, Minister Byrne, together with his EU counterparts, also engaged in preparations for the June meeting of the European Council, approved European Semester recommendations, considered a progress report on simplification, as well as a state of play update from Hungary on the rule of law in its country.
To conclude the meeting, Minister Byrne presented the priorities of the incoming Presidency Trio (Ireland, Lithuania, Greece) and participated in the traditional Presidency handover ceremony between Cyprus and Ireland.
Minister Byrne also participated in three intergovernmental conferences (IGCs) with Moldova, Montenegro and Ukraine held the evening before the GAC, and engaged with my counterparts from both EU Member States as well as candidate countries and potential candidates on the European Democracy Shield and democratic resilience.
Minister Byrne held several bilateral meetings on the margins of the General Affairs Council, including with the Luxembourgish Deputy Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister Cristina Gherasimov, Bulgarian Deputy Foreign Minister Ivanka Tasheva, Slovenian State Secretary for European Affairs Tamara Weingerl Požar, Hungarian State Secretary for Public Policy András Bíró-Nagy and European Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection Michael McGrath.
Minister Byrne will chair the first meeting of the General Affairs Council under the Irish Presidency on 14 July.