Ireland took over the rotating presidency of the European Union at a ceremony in Dublin Castle on 1 July 2026. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attended the ceremony, and European Council President António Costa addressed the event, outlining three pillars of Ireland’s presidency – values, competitiveness and security.

The Irish EU presidency will last six months, during which Ireland will host hundreds of EU meetings and visits by leaders, starting the week after the ceremony. According to the Irish Presidency website, this is the eighth term, succeeding Cyprus and will be passed to Lithuania on 1 January 2027. A street in Dublin (Castle Street) was closed without formal notification on 23 June as part of a policing and security operation for the presidency that began at Dublin Castle on 15 June, irishtimes.com reported. The ceremony was also attended by former taoiseachs, former and current Irish MEPs, and former Irish EU commissioners, rte.ie reported.

Zelensky thanked Ireland for its support, saying Ireland had stood by Ukraine from the “very beginning” of Russia’s invasion and thanked it for assistance during the war, gdelt reported. He added that he hopes that during Ireland’s EU Council presidency Ukraine will achieve tangible progress toward EU membership and open all negotiating clusters, kyivindependent reported.