Catherine Ardagh (Dublin South Central, Fianna Fail)
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17. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if advancing Ukraine’s membership of the EU will be a key priority under the Irish Presidency of the EU next year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66599/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Ireland will hold the EU Presidency from July to December 2026. This will be an important opportunity for Ireland to lead and shape the European agenda.

Ireland is a strong supporter of EU enlargement and I am confident that it will feature in our Presidency. We firmly believe that it is through EU membership that peace and prosperity can best be ensured across our continent. Ireland will use our upcoming EU Presidency to facilitate progress towards EU membership for all candidate and potential candidate countries which have met the necessary criteria, including for Ukraine, which has managed to enact significant reforms despite fighting an illegal war of aggression against their nation. Following the publication in early November of the 2025 Enlargement reports, the Commission has confirmed that Ukraine has met the necessary criteria to allow the opening of negotiating clusters 1, 2 and 6.

I will be pushing for Ukraine’s candidacy to progress at the Foreign Affairs Council, as Ireland continues to be a strong supporter of Ukraine’s EU path.

As I said in response to an earlier question, Ireland's overall Presidency priorities and policy programme remain under development and will take into account the EU's Strategic Agenda for 2024-29, the legislative programme proposed by the European Commission, and the Government's priorities in relation to the EU. Consultations with our European partners will also inform the development of our priorities, as will the evolution of the Council’s legislative agenda through the Presidency terms of Denmark and Cyprus.

A consultation process with domestic stakeholders is also guiding the development of Ireland's programme and priorities. This process will allow consideration to be given to a broad range of policy issues as our programme is developed.

Following the conclusion of this process, the Government will agree and publish our programme of policy priorities for the Presidency in June 2026, shortly before the start of Ireland's Presidency term.