2 minute read / November 1, 2026
The Irish Presidency delivered a series of strong results in October 2026, advancing key files across the Presidency’s priority areas of competitiveness, values and security. This included securing agreements with the European Parliament on the ETS1 Market Stability Reserve, on the EU Organics Regulation, and an agreement to revive and simplify the EU’s securitisation market. The Presidency also secured consensus amongst Member States on the Market Integration and Supervision Package (MISP), a wide-ranging piece set of measures designed to deepen EU capital markets; and on EU Inc – a new legal framework for innovative European companies. The Irish Presidency will now enter into negotiations with the European Parliament to finalise agreement on these major pieces of legislation which are designed to boost EU competitiveness.
The Irish Presidency presented its proposal for the EU’s next seven-year budget after months of in-depth engagement. The Irish proposal reflected an ambitious budget that represented a 30% increase from the current MFF, finding savings while also maintaining key priorities, thus ensuring that nearly all programmes see significant increases when compared with the current MFF. Related to the budget, the Irish Presidency also secured agreement among Member States on the post-2027 Common Agricultural Policy framework and the post-2027 Common Market Organisation for agricultural products.
The Irish Presidency has continued to make progress in strengthening European security and defence, securing agreement on five European Defence Projects of Common Interest (EDPCIs) to enhance Europe’s defence readiness and industrial capacity. In the area of Justice and Home Affairs, the Irish Presidency oversaw final adoption of new EU rules enabling more effective returns for those with no legal right to stay in the EU, facilitated agreement on the first Council conclusions on combating racism and related forms of hatred and discrimination in the EU. Agreement was also reached on conclusions focused on strengthening democratic resilience across the EU. Furthermore in the area of climate and environment, the Presidency reached consensus on the EU’s negotiating position for COP31 on climate in Antalya and COP17 on biodiversity in Yerevan.
The Presidency has continued to support Ukraine in the face of Russia’s brutal war of aggression. A number of sanctions listings have been adopted in October including the EU’s largest ever package of restrictive measures targeting almost 1,600 individuals and entities in Russia’s military-industrial complex.
Significant progress on Ukraine and Moldova’s EU accession journey has also been made in recent weeks with the start of negotiations on the areas of internal market, competitiveness and inclusive growth. Montenegro and Albania have also continued to make strong progress with the provisional closing of negotiations on a number of areas. The Irish Presidency continues to work towards the goal of closing all accession negotiations with Montenegro by the end of the year. Also under this area, the Presidency reached agreement on the first ever Council recommendation on housing exclusion and homelessness, as well as conclusions on equality as a driver for economic growth and competitiveness.
