Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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117. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the dates during Ireland's Presidency it will host a summit meeting of the European Political Community and an informal meeting of the European Council. [58201/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Ireland will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the eighth time from July to December 2026.

Preparations are well underway, led by my Department in close coordination with the Department of the Taoiseach, and with the active participation of all Departments across Government.

The Government has agreed that we will host an informal meeting of the European Council and a summit meeting of the European Political Community in Ireland during the Presidency, as well as a programme of 22 informal Council meetings at Ministerial level.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is working with all Departments to finalise the proposed list of meetings and events for inclusion in the official calendar of the Irish Presidency. A high-level calendar, setting out the dates for the summit meeting of the European Political Community and the informal meeting of the European Council, as well as formal and informal Council meetings and meetings of high-level Council preparatory bodies, will be prepared in close consultation with the President of the European Council, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and the Council Secretariat. In keeping with convention, a draft version of the high-level calendar will be circulated to Member States and to the EU institutions several months in advance of the start of the Presidency.

The full official calendar, which will include details of all meetings and events forming part of the official programme for Ireland’s EU Presidency, will be published in June 2026 with the launch of Ireland’s EU Presidency website.