Ireland will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union (the Presidency) from 1 July to 31 December 2026.
The Programme of the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2026 (the Programme), the Government’s six-month policy agenda, is built around three pillars: competitiveness, values, and security. In financial services, competitiveness is the dominant theme.
The Presidency falls at a time of geopolitical uncertainty, economic fragmentation and sustained debate about Europe’s ability to compete internationally. Against that backdrop, the Programme commits Ireland to advancing measures that deepen capital markets, widen access to finance and simplify the regulatory environment. These sit within the broader framework of the EU’s One Europe, One Market Roadmap (the Roadmap), agreed by the Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament on 24 April 2026, and the European Commission’s Savings and Investments Union (SIU), both directed at strengthening the competitiveness of the European economy.
For regulated firms, the Presidency matters primarily for the pace it can set on several legislative files already in train, including the SIU, the digital euro, and the wider simplification programme. A Presidency cannot dictate outcomes, but it controls the Council agenda and shapes the tempo of negotiations on files that carry operational, governance and compliance implications for firms across Ireland and the EU.
The Competitiveness Backdrop
The Roadmap provides the policy frame for much of the Presidency’s financial services work. It seeks to strengthen European competitiveness through regulatory simplification, deeper market integration, digital transformation and increased investment. It identifies a set of priority financial services files, including the Market Integration and Supervision Package, the securitisation framework and the digital euro. The Irish Presidency has committed to progressing these files, treating financial services reform as a lever for European competitiveness.
The next Multiannual Financial Framework
The negotiations on the EU’s next Multiannual Financial Framework for 2028 to 2034 will form an important backdrop to Ireland’s term. Although not a financial services measure, the Government has identified timely agreement on the next long-term EU budget as an overarching priority, and the outcome will shape wider discussions on European competitiveness and the financing of the EU’s policy objectives.
Savings and Investments Union
The SIU is the centrepiece of the Presidency’s financial services agenda, and the relevant files are taken forward through the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN). The European Commission’s strategy aims to channel household savings into productive investment, deepen EU capital markets and reduce the economy’s reliance on bank financing. Several legislative files sit within the SIU.
Market Integration and Supervision Package
The most significant of these is the Market Integration and Supervision Package, presented by the European Commission on 4 December 2025. The package is designed to make the single market for financial services function more effectively by removing the regulatory and supervisory barriers that keep EU capital markets fragmented and constrain how savings are invested across the Union. It would also expand the European Securities and Markets Authority’s role in supervising significant cross-border entities. The Presidency has committed to advancing negotiations with a view to political agreement by the end of 2026.
Securitisation Reform
The Presidency will take forward trilogue negotiations on the securitisation framework. The European Commission tabled its package in June 2025, intending to simplify the existing regime. The Council agreed its negotiating position in December 2025, and the European Parliament finalised its position in May 2026, clearing the way for trilogues to begin during Ireland’s term. Although it attracts less attention than the digital euro, securitisation reform is an important element of the broader SIU agenda.
Venture Capital Reform and Investment Exits
The Programme also targets the venture capital market. The European Commission is reviewing the European Venture Capital Funds Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 345/2013) (EuVECA). It has signalled a legislative proposal in the third quarter of 2026 to simplify the regime and help EU managers reach greater scale. A separate initiative is expected to improve exit options for growth companies, and the Presidency stands ready to begin negotiations on both files once they are tabled.
Supplementary Pensions Package
The Presidency will also seek to advance negotiations on the Supplementary Pensions Package, aiming to conclude them in line with the Roadmap, which targets agreement by the end of 2026. The package is intended to support greater participation by both retail and institutional investors, including pension funds, in European capital markets.
Digital euro
The digital euro is likely to be one of the highest-profile financial services files during Ireland’s term. The proposed framework would establish a digital form of central bank money for use across the euro area, with the stated objectives of protecting Europe’s monetary sovereignty, fostering innovation in payments and keeping the European payments ecosystem competitive.
Although the European Commission tabled its proposal for a regulation establishing the digital euro in June 2023, progress has been relatively slow. The European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs adopted its negotiating position in June 2026, with a plenary vote expected in early July 2026, allowing trilogue negotiations to begin during the Irish Presidency. The Programme commits Ireland to working towards a trilogue agreement on the enabling framework, and the Roadmap identifies the digital euro as a file for agreement by the end of 2026. The timing of any final agreement remains uncertain, and the file is likely to stay near the centre of the Presidency’s competitiveness agenda.
Banking Competitiveness and the Simplification Agenda
Regulatory simplification runs through both the Programme and the Roadmap. The European Commission is expected to publish its report on the competitiveness of the European banking sector in July 2026, and the Presidency has committed to facilitating Council discussions on it, with a view to promoting simplification and a level playing field across the internal market. The Presidency is unlikely to engage in substantive negotiations on amendments to the EU banking framework, since the Roadmap targets legislative proposals for the first quarter of 2027, after Ireland’s term, with political agreement targeted for the fourth quarter of 2027.
Sustainable Finance
Sustainable finance also features on the agenda. The Programme refers to sustainable finance and biodiversity finance and commits Ireland to engaging in negotiations on the reform of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). The European Commission published its proposal to revise the SFDR on 20 November 2025, replacing the current Article 8 and Article 9 framework with a categorisation system for products making environmental, social and governance claims, and the file is now progressing through the legislative process. On 24 June 2026, the Council agreed its negotiating position on the reform of the SFDR, marking a key step towards trilogue negotiations.
What does this mean for Irish-regulated firms?
For Irish-regulated firms, the main impact of the Presidency will be on the pace of existing EU reforms rather than the introduction of new measures. Progress on key files such as the SIU, the digital euro and broader simplification initiatives may affect how firms operate across the EU, particularly in relation to cross-border activity and regulatory requirements.
Industry, Regulatory and Government Perspectives
Industry, regulators and Government have broadly aligned behind the competitiveness agenda that underpins the Presidency’s financial services priorities. Banking & Payments Federation Ireland has urged the Government to use the Presidency to drive progress on competitiveness, regulatory simplification and the mobilisation of household savings. The Central Bank of Ireland has emphasised the importance of the SIU and deeper capital markets, while maintaining its focus on consumer protection. Government commentary has echoed these themes, with the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Simon Harris, framing the Presidency as an opportunity to both shape the EU’s SIU agenda and strengthen domestic savings and investment participation as part of a wider competitiveness strategy. Recent comments by Taoiseach Micheál Martin have further underlined this momentum, suggesting that agreement on the SIU could be achievable by the end of 2026.
Contact
For more information, please contact Shane Kelleher, Louise McNabola or any member of the Financial Regulation Unit or your usual William Fry contact.
Contributed by Kitty Carolan
