Irish presidency of the Council (July – December 2026)
From July to December 2026, Eurofound supports the work of the eighth Irish presidency of the Council of the EU, providing valuable research results on specific topics linked with the presidency priorities. Ireland forms a new Presidency trio with Lithuania and Greece.
Presidency priorities
The Irish presidency programme focuses on three core pillars: competitiveness, values and security.
The main priorities of the presidency are outlined below:
Employment and social policy
Social investment, quality of life and living standards
Equality and equal treatment
Quality Jobs Act
Fair Mobility Package
Affordable housing
Youth policy, education and training
Child Guarantee
Closing the disability employment gap
Economy, competitiveness and growth
Competitiveness
Economic resilience and strategic autonomy
Innovation and SME scale-up
Enlargement of the EU
Trade and investment policy (rules-based, open and diversified trade agenda)
Multiannual Financial Framework 2028–2034
Green and digital transition
Energy transition
Digitalisation and artificial intelligence
Digital partnerships and sectoral cooperation agreements
Security, democracy and rule of law
EU values and rule of law
Security and defence cooperation
Establishment of the European Centre for Democratic Resilience
Eurofound's contribution
Eurofound will contribute to a range of presidency meetings and events, providing expertise in the areas of employment, social and work-related policies and preparing background information and knowledge on specific topics as requested by the presidency. These include, among others, contributions to the informal meeting of Employment and Social Affairs Ministers; the informal meeting of the EU Employment Committee; the Mental health Ministerial conference; the Joint Meeting of the Chief Medical, Chief Nursing, and Chief Dental Officers and more.
In addition, the Agency will host a number of meetings organised by the Presidency at its Conference Centre in Loughlinstown.
More information
For more information, visit the Irish presidency 2026 websiteopens in new tab
Related topics
Eurofound experts
Cristina Arigho
Senior Communication ManagerCristina Arigho is Senior Communications Manager and Stakeholder engagement and Promotions Lead in the Information and Communication unit at Eurofound, having joined the Agency in 2012. Previously, she spent almost 20 years in Brussels working in various roles, many of them at the European Commission, including as spokesperson for DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (2010–2012) and for DG Budget (2007–2009). Before joining the Commission’s spokesperson’s service, she was press officer at DG Employment (2005–2007) and speech writer for the Commissioner and Director General at the time (2003–2005). Prior to her years at the Commission, she worked for RTÉ radio and television (Irish national television) in Brussels as a production assistant and researcher, and later as news producer. Cristina is a graduate in Applied Languages from the University of Ulster at Coleraine, Northern Ireland.
Anna Ludwinek
Liaison Manager - Brussels Liaison OfficeAnna Ludwinek is the Liaison Manager at Eurofound’s Brussels Liaison Office, which she joined in 2019. Her responsibilities focus primarily on coordinating the work of the Brussels office, including the relationship with the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Council and thinks-tanks. Prior to this, Anna was a research manager in the Social Policies unit with responsibility for work on intergenerational social mobility and equal opportunities, youth inequalities and access to social benefits. Her earlier work at Eurofound involved managing a European network of cities for local integration policies (CLIP), working on issues around diversity, housing, intercultural policies and ethnic entrepreneurship. Other areas of research included reintegration of long-term excluded groups into the labour market and the impact of digitalisation on social services. Anna holds an MA in Political Science from Warsaw University and a BA in International Relations and MA in Social Applied Research from Trinity College Dublin.
