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Ministers responsible for European affairs heard a presentation by the presidency on its priorities and work programme for the second half of 2026 with a focus on those specifically falling within the remit of the General Affairs Council. The Council also heard a presentation and held an exchange of view on the state of play and future orientation of work on the EU’s simplification agenda. Finally, the Council approved conclusions on theevaluation of the rule of law dialogue.
Today, I shared the Irish presidency priorities for the next six months with my ministerial colleagues, centred on three pillars: competitiveness, values and security. We have already made progress on a number of key issues at the General Affairs Council. I also set out the overarching priority of delivering a timely agreement on a long-term EU budget that matches the Union’s ambitions for the years to come. I am proud to steer the work of the General Affairs Council during the Irish presidency, in progressing a positive European agenda.
Thomas Byrne, Minister of State for European affairs and defence of Ireland
Presidency priorities
In public session, the presidency presented its priorities and work programme for the second half of 2026 with a focus on those specifically falling within the remit of the General Affairs Council.
Through the General Affairs Council, the Irish presidency will promote its horizontal priorities of competitiveness, values and security, while ensuring a coherent approach across the work of all Council configurations. Delivering on the 'One Europe, One Market' roadmap and advancing simplification are central to this work.
The presidency will also advance work on the next EU’s long-term budget (MFF) 2028-2034, with a view to enabling EU leaders to take the necessary decisions by the end of 2026. Other priorities include enlargement, the rule of law, relations with the UK, the EEA and EFTA countries, and cohesion policy. On 16 June 2026, ministers endorsed the Council’s 18-month programme covering the period from 1 July 2026 to 31 December 2027.
The Council heard a presentation by the presidency and held an exchange of views onthe state of play and future orientation of work on the EU’s simplification agenda.
The Irish presidency intends to follow up on the task given by the Leaders through the ‘One Europe, One Market’ Roadmap, striving to close the Omnibus packages VII to X (on digital policy, environment, automotive, and food and feed safety, respectively) by the end of the year, assuming the European Parliament is ready to negotiate swiftly, and beginning the work on the two new packages on taxation and energy products, respectively.
In this context and based on a steering note prepared by the presidency, ministers discussed the strategic aspects of how to boost the EU’s long-term competitiveness through further simplification. Ministers exchanged views on possible waysto collectively sustain the momentum with the simplification agenda to meaningfully reduce the administrative burden and support EU competitiveness, without undermining EU policy goals. Ministers also shared their thoughts on policy areas that should be prioritised for further simplification at the EU level in pursuit of these objectives, and how the Council could best keep the focus on simplification to deliver quick results.
The Council approved a set of conclusions on the evaluation of the annual rule of law dialogue highlighting its continuous commitment to this dialogue. The text of the conclusions is identical to the draft that, due to the absence of consensus, led to the presidency conclusions of 12 December 2023, which laid down the reinforced structure of the rule-of-law dialogue in the Council. Meanwhile, Poland stated its support at a Coreper meeting on 20 December 2023 and Hungary stated that it could also support the text at the General Affairs Council of 26 May 2026.
The conclusions consolidate the existing approach to the Council’s annual rule of law dialogue as a valuable preventive tool in the EU’s rule of law toolbox. They also strengthen the Council’s dialogue by setting out a faster cycle, covering more member states per year, and by encouraging more frequent exchanges within the Council, and with external stakeholders, as appropriate.
The approval of these conclusions does not prejudge in any way the next evaluation of the dialogue, which shall be undertaken by the end of 2027.
Tento zdroj je v současné době k dispozici pouze v těchto jazycích:
In public session, under ‘any other business’, the presidency informed ministers about the handling of the Council’s work on the next EU’s long-term budget (Multi-annual Financial Framework / MFF) 2028-2034.
Over an informal lunch, ministers held an exchange of views with the EU Rapporteur on the future of the single market, Prof. Enrico Letta on the 'One Europe, One Market' roadmap.
