The Development of the Priorities and Policy Programme for Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2026

From 1 July to 31 December 2026, Ireland will assume the Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU). The Government is seeking views from domestic stakeholders and the Irish public on the development of Ireland’s Presidency priorities and policy programme.

Through these consultations, the Government is seeking to gather observations, suggestions, and reflections on how Ireland can best fulfil its Presidency role; ensure the Presidency policy programme is informed by diverse perspectives from across Irish society; and identify EU-wide issues, themes, and policy areas that should be given particular attention during Ireland’s Presidency.

The Submission Form contains important guidance and background information on the consultation, followed by optional guiding questions where respondents are invited to provide responses. We ask that the response to each question is limited to a maximum of 500 words.

Respondents are welcome to submit additional information alongside the Submission Form. However, in such cases, respondents must provide a summary of the additional information under the ‘Any other comments’ question. This summary should also be limited to a maximum of 500 words.

We ask that, where possible, respondents frame feedback with reference to the EU Strategic Agenda 2024-2029, the legislative programme of the Council, the planned legislative proposals included in the European Commission’s 2026 work programme, or the work of a relevant Council configuration.

Please download the below form, complete the Submission Form, and submit the form via email to EUPresidency2026Consultations@dfa.ie. The deadline for receipt of submissions is Friday 12 December 2025. If you have any questions, please send your query to this same email address.

We would like to draw your attention to our Data Privacy Notice, which explains how and when we collect personal data, why we do so, and how we treat this information. It also explains your rights in relation to the collection of personal information and how you can exercise those rights. Anonymised excerpts from individual submissions may be included in internal and published reports. While the Department will carefully consider all comments and suggestions received, it does not intend to respond to individual submissions.

Please note that all responses received to this consultation are subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2014 (FOI), the European Communities (Access to Information on the Environment) Regulations 2007-2014, and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Feedback received from submissions will be considered as part of the development of Ireland’s Presidency priorities and policy programme. A summary thematic report will be prepared by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and shared with other Government Departments through relevant inter-departmental coordination structures.

The summary thematic report, along with all submissions received, will be published on an updated version of this page once the consultation process has concluded