Remarks by the Minister of State for International and Road Transport, Logistics, Rail and Ports, Seán Canney TD at launch of Irish Presidency Priorities and Policy Programme

Delivering a successful and effective Presidency will be a central objective for all of us across Government in the six months ahead.

We will take forward our core themes of competitiveness, values and security by driving progress on a wide range of proposals and initiatives across the EU’s policy agenda. 

And in a volatile world, we will work as Presidency to ensure that the Council responds effectively to the needs of all 27 Member States, and of our citizens across Europe, through the six months ahead.

My own work during the Presidency will focus on the Transport Council, where we will be taking forward a number of core objectives.

We want to ensure that transport can be an enabler for boosting the EU’s competitiveness.

We will focus on decarbonisation, and delivering the just, green transition which is essential to meeting the EU’s decarbonisation goals.

We will ensure that transport policy delivers for citizens across the Union, with a strong focus on passenger rights and digitalisation.

And we will work to build a resilient European transport network that is safe and secure for all transport users.

We will also place a focus on road safety, which must always remain a top priority for the EU.

We look forward to welcoming EU Transport Ministers to Ireland for an informal meeting of the Transport Council in September.

That will be one of 22 informal Ministerial meetings we will host here during our Presidency term, part of an overall programme of more than 270 Presidency meetings and events in Ireland which we expect will involve more than 30,000 delegates.

Reflecting the commitment we made in the Programme for Government, those meetings will take place in cities and counties across Ireland, ensuring the entire country benefits from the profile the Presidency brings.

Delivering successfully on all aspects of our Presidency role will require a significant national effort.

But we know we are well prepared.

We know we can count on the support and cooperation of our European partners.

And we know that over the next six months, across our core priorities of competitiveness, values and security, we can make a real and important contribution to the future of the EU – a Union which has delivered so much for Ireland in over the 53 years of our membership.