Start of the Irish Presidency: “Strength With Unity”

As of July 1, Ireland has taken over the presidency of the Council of the European Union from Cyprus. This marks not only the start of a new six-month term under Irish leadership, but also the beginning of a new trio presidency with Lithuania and Greece. The three countries will jointly determine the Council’s strategic direction through the end of 2027, with Ireland leading the Council’s work for the next six months.

Competitiveness, values and security

Anyone reading the work program will notice one clear common theme: competitiveness. Ireland approaches virtually every policy issue by asking how Europe can become economically stronger, more innovative, and less dependent on third countries. The regulatory burden must be reduced, the internal market must function more effectively, and investment in strategic technologies must increase.In this regard, the Irish Presidency aligns with the broader European agenda. Since the Draghi report, competitiveness has been high on the agenda in Brussels. This discussion is also familiar in the Netherlands, as reflected in the Wennink Report and the Jetten cabinet’s broader focus on innovation, strategic autonomy, and a stronger business climate.

According to the presidency, democracy, the rule of law, and fundamental rights form the foundation of European competitiveness and security. Ireland also aims to stabilize and strengthen relations with strategic partners, including the United States and the United Kingdom. In a time of geopolitical turmoil, the presidency is thus making a clear choice to cooperate with like-minded partners.

European technological sovereignty

For organizations active in the tech sector, this will be a particularly crucial presidency. Ireland will begin negotiations on, among other things, the Cloud & AI Development Act (CADA) and the Chips Act 2, while simultaneously advancing the broader discussion on European digital sovereignty. In doing so, it builds on the Tech Sovereignty Package, which the European Commission presented in early June and which focuses on strategic autonomy, cloud capacity, AI, digital infrastructure, and reducing dependence on foreign technology. This means that organizations can no longer get by with a general narrative about innovation or digitization. They will have to specify how their technology contributes to European resilience, security, and the reduction of strategic dependencies. Strategies that previously focused primarily on scale, market access, or compliance will need to be supplemented with a compelling sovereignty narrative.

Ireland positions itself as an advocate for increasing Europe’s digital autonomy, without excluding strategic partners such as the United States. At the same time, the country is the European home of virtually all major “Big Tech” companies. Ireland will therefore lead negotiations on legislation designed to give Europe more control over the market power of companies operating out of Dublin. This makes this presidency more politically sensitive than it appears at first glance. The key question for both large and small-to-medium-sized tech companies is how they can demonstrably contribute to European policy goals without creating new dependencies.

Looking ahead

Over the next two years of negotiations, it will be determined how far Europe is willing to go in decreasing strategic dependencies, strengthening European alternatives, regulating Big Tech, and boosting European competitiveness. The second half of 2026 will therefore mark not only a new presidency but also the true beginning of negotiations on Europe’s digital future. The question, then, is not whether organizations should prepare, but what role they want to play in this process.