The One Europe, One Market Roadmap, agreed by the Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament, provides a blueprint to achieve decisive progress in 2026. We will treat the Roadmap’s objectives as core priorities for the Irish Presidency.
Given the urgency of the task, the targets are firmly ambitious and challenging. We will use all the tools available to the Presidency to facilitate agreement on the priority files in line with the agreed targets. Success will require all Member States and each institution to work purposefully together in a spirit of cooperation and compromise, in the interests of every citizen and business right across our Union.
Our work will be guided by the five agreed strategic building blocks:
Simplifying rules
We will reduce unnecessary administrative burdens through prioritisation of the Omnibus simplification packages.
We will prioritise a smarter, more coherent regulatory framework. This is key to unlocking rapid and efficient development of critical infrastructure, clean and affordable energy, and affordable housing.
More integrated Single Market
The Single Market is the foundation of Europe’s economy and prosperity. The Irish Presidency will work to eliminate barriers, tackle regulatory burdens, boost internal market trade, drive digital transformation and ensure a level playing field for businesses operating across the EU.
We will make it easier for business to start-up and scale seamlessly across the Union, including through the EU Inc. proposal.
It is time to take a decisive step forward on the Savings and Investment Union, and to help channel Europe’s substantial savings into more productive investments.
Championing strong trade
An ambitious trade policy agenda, which strengthens our trade relationships with reliable global partners and diversifies our markets, will also be at the core of our efforts.
The Irish Presidency will support EU efforts to strengthen economic resilience. Guided by the promote-protect-partner principles that support our economic security, we will work to bolster our supply chain resilience.
Energy transition
We will support all efforts to respond to the exceptional energy crisis facing Europe.
We will prioritise work to enhance Europe’s security of supply and the development of sustainable, affordable and secure energy systems.
We will conclude the European Grids Package and advance the forthcoming Energy Security Package.
We will support measures to ensure the protection and resilience of energy infrastructure, and work to accelerate the clean energy transition and phasing out dependence on fossil fuel imports.
Digital/AI
We will seek to strengthen the EU’s capacities in cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI), and to advance the Union’s positions on responsible digital governance.
In an era of transformative technological change, we will convene governments and stakeholders for an AI Summit focussed on harnessing digital and AI opportunities while empowering our people to thrive in a digital society.
We will advance work on digital connectivity and digital networks, and focus on investment in subsea telecoms connectivity and the security and resilience of sub-sea cables.
To complement this work, we will prioritise sectoral work in support of competitive, sustainable farming and fishing; create a more innovation-friendly regulatory and policy environment; advance educational mobility through Erasmus+; and promote investment and reinforcement of resilience in strategic and emerging sectors, including AI, semiconductors, biotechnology and new technologies.
Healthy societies are productive and competitive ones. Health innovation will be a central contributor to Europe’s competitiveness and technological leadership. We will advance legislation on biotechnology and medical devices to drive the innovation, resilience and competitiveness of this key sector.