The Presidency of the Council of the European Union rotates among member states every six months. From July 2026, Ireland assumes the Presidency, taking a leadership role in shaping the Council’s work.
What is the Presidency?
The Council of the European Union is a key decision-making institution in Europe, along with the European Parliament and the European Commission. It represents governments of the 27 member states, with ministers meeting to discuss, amend and adopt EU laws or co-ordinate policy.
Presidency of the Council affords each country the opportunity to shape the Council’s work and represent the Council in the European Union’s decision-making processes.
What will Ireland do during its Presidency?
Ireland takes on the Presidency from Cyprus from 1 July 2026. It is the eighth time Ireland has held the Presidency since it first assumed the role in 1975.
During the Irish Presidency, Irish ministers and officials will organise and lead the formal meetings of the Council of the European Union and host informal ministerial engagements in Ireland.
As a representative of the Council of the European Union with the European Parliament and the European Commission, Ireland will have an important role in achieving compromise and agreement in negotiations.
In addition, Ireland will represent the Council outside the European Union during its Presidency.
The Irish Government will also host the European Political Community summit of European leaders and chair over 200 meetings during the Presidency.
At a glance
What the parliamentary dimension of Ireland’s Presidency will deliver
Major conferences across Ireland and Europe
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Delegates
Languages
Parliament: Our main focus
Leadership role
Sets the agenda for interparliamentary engagement across the EU during the Presidency
Interparliamentary conferences
Hosts meetings in Ireland where parliamentarians from across Europe come together to talk about important EU issues
Interparliamentary engagement
Works with parliamentarians from other countries to share ideas and discuss key priorities
What is the role of the Houses of the Oireachtas, Ireland’s national parliament, in the Presidency?
The Houses of the Oireachtas will play a central role in the parliamentary dimension of Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union. This carries an important responsibility to foster co-operation between national parliaments of member states, as well as the European Parliament. MC
During the Presidency, the Houses of the Oireachtas will lead the work by the parliamentary community to scrutinise, debate and influence EU decision-making, with a focus on strengthening democratic oversight, transparency and accountability across the Union.
Several significant conferences will be hosted by the Houses of the Oireachtas that will bring together members of national parliaments, MEPs and EU officials.
These meetings are a formal basis for discussing EU priorities and direction on matters that directly affect citizens of the member states.
As well as hosting interparliamentary conferences, Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas will continue to build relationships and engage with parliamentarians from national parliaments from across the EU member states and beyond.
This engagement provides the opportunity for participants to share national experiences and discuss major EU priorities from a wide range of parliamentary perspectives and experience.
What is the role of national parliaments in EU affairs?
Each national parliament across member states has its own way of working but all play an important role in ensuring that EU decision-making remains democratic and close to citizens.
The Irish Parliament, the Houses of the Oireachtas, exemplifies this work in several ways.
The Houses of the Oireachtas, Ireland’s national parliament, scrutinises EU legislative proposals and facilitates the questioning of Irish Ministers on their actions in the Council. Seanad Éireann, the Upper House of Ireland’s Parliament, also has regular debates with Irish MEPs.
Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas also monitor how EU laws and policies affect citizens and engage with European bodies.
Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas also routinely collaborate with European colleagues across EU and international forums.
Why Ireland's Presidency matters
The European Union is a family of member states built on principles of solidarity and co-operation. During the Presidency, Ireland will play its part in nurturing and strengthening the European project by guiding negotiations, brokering agreements between member states and helping to deliver EU laws and policies that affect more than 450 million people across Europe.
The Houses of the Oireachtas, as Ireland’s national parliament, will play its part with the parliamentary dimension of the Presidency.
A key task of the Presidency is to act as an honest broker in discussions with a view to compromise and agreement in the Council.
The chairpersons, known as Cathaoirligh, of committees in the Irish Parliament will chair the interparliamentary conferences hosted in Dublin. In some cases, they will be co-chairing meetings with the European Parliament.
Ireland has a well-established reputation of neutrality and is a seasoned holder of the Presidency, having held it a total of eight times since 1975.
Ireland will form a Presidency "trio" with Lithuania and Greece, co-operating for 18 months on shared programmes and priorities. This trio process was introduced in order to set long-term goals and continuity in European work.
For some interparliamentary conferences, the Houses of the Oireachtas will form a "troika" with the European Parliament and the national parliaments of Cyprus and Lithuania, the previous and next holders of the Presidency. Members of the Oireachtas will work with troika colleagues to achieve consensus in this process.
Parliaments are representative of Europe’s citizens. With the work done through the parliamentary dimension of the Presidency, Ireland is ensuring that EU decisions are considered in a transparent and fully transparent process rather than driven only by governments or officials. This brings EU decision-making closer to citizens, reinforcing public trust in the work of our European institutions.
More about the EU Presidency
The parliamentary dimension ensures that EU decisions are transparent, democratic, and accountable, rather than solely driven by governments and officials. By involving elected representatives at both national and EU level, it brings EU decision‑making closer to citizens and reinforces public trust in how the Union operates.
The Presidency of the Council of the European Union is a role that each EU country takes on in turn for six months. During this time, the country is responsible for chairing meetings of the Council, where EU ministers discuss and agree on laws and policies. The Presidency helps organise the Council’s work, sets the agenda for discussions, and makes sure meetings run smoothly so decisions can be made.
The Presidency also acts as an honest broker between EU countries. Its job is to help build agreement, even when countries have different views, and to move negotiations forward. It represents the Council in talks with other EU institutions like the European Parliament and the European Commission. While the Presidency is held by one country, it must act in the interests of the whole EU, helping the Union work effectively for its citizens.
National parliaments work together at European level through regular discussion, cooperation and shared forums. While each national parliament has its own way of working, cooperation is important so they can effectively influence and oversee EU decision‑making. Dialogue between parliaments helps them understand different perspectives and strengthens their collective role in the EU.
To support this cooperation, inter‑parliamentary conferences have been created. These bring together members of national parliaments and the European Parliament to discuss specific EU policy areas. For example, there are conferences focused on economic and monetary policy, foreign, security and defence policy, and on monitoring Europol’s activities. These meetings allow parliamentarians to debate issues, share best practice, and contribute to EU‑level discussions.
In addition, national parliaments cooperate through COSAC (the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs). COSAC brings together members of the EU affairs committees from national parliaments and the European Parliament to monitor European cooperation and discuss EU policies. This helps strengthen democratic scrutiny and coordination across the EU.
National parliaments play an important role in how the European Union works, particularly in ensuring that EU decision‑making remains democratic and close to citizens.
One key role is the subsidiarity check. When the European Commission proposes a new EU law, national parliaments examine whether the issue is best dealt with at EU level or whether it would be better handled by individual Member States. EU action should only take place if it provides added value compared to separate national rules. If a national parliament believes a proposal breaches the subsidiarity principle, it can raise concerns formally.
While EU legislation is still being discussed, national parliaments can also send non‑binding opinions and recommendations to EU institutions. These allow parliaments to comment on the content, impact, or direction of proposed EU laws and to influence debate before decisions are finalised.
In addition, national parliaments influence EU affairs in other ways. They monitor and hold their own governments accountable for actions taken at EU level, question ministers before and after EU meetings, and scrutinise how EU laws are implemented nationally. National parliaments are also involved in the ratification of EU treaties and major EU agreements. Together, these powers help ensure democratic oversight and strengthen the link between EU decisions and national citizens.