Bobby McDonagh / Jul 2026
Photo: European Union, 2026
Much has been written about Ireland’s current Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers. It occurred to me that drawing some analogies with the soccer World Cup, may offer fresh insights.
I would highlight four possible parallels in particular.
The first analogy is the importance of respecting common rules and thus ensuring fairness for everyone. When all of this summer’s footballs have been packed away and all the stadiums lie silent, one thing that will never be forgotten about the 2026 World Cup was the disgraceful intervention of President Trump to have rescinded what should have been the automatic one-match suspension of one of the US players, and the even more extraordinary willingness of FIFA to capitulate to US pressure. The entire footballing world knew instinctively that what had happened was wrong and, in an outpouring of overwhelming support for Belgium in their match against the US, demonstrated - in an important and impactful way - that respect for a rules-based order is not only of concern to so-called “elites”.
Ireland, with the experience of seven EU Presidencies behind it, understands well this most important of principles, namely that, if we are to be successful, we must act fairly in the interests of all our EU partners; that we must respect the rules; and that, rather than parading Irish hobby horses or suppressing our most sensitive concerns, we must act in the interests of the Union as a whole.
The shape of Ireland’s Presidency Programme demonstrates this clearly. Most obviously, notwithstanding Ireland’s traditional military neutrality, one of Ireland’s three overriding Presidency priorities is security in all its dimensions, including military. Amongst other things, the Presidency will prioritise maritime security and, most importantly, support for Ukraine. Neither will it shy away from necessary European action on big tech including child safety online, nor will it approach the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) through the lens of our cherished Common Agricultural Policy.
I have no doubt that the Irish Presidency will take forward EU business over the next six months both impartially ambitiously. The Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, is no Gianni Infantino.
The second parallel with the World Cup suggests that we should make the most of the public dimension of the Presidency. Football benefitted not just from the excitement of what has happened on the pitch but from the exuberance of football fans throughout the world. The image of the Norwegian fans rowing their Viking boats will remain in the mind’s eye for many decades to come.
Likewise the Irish Presidency is rightly determined to use the next six months to highlight the achievements of the EU and to help the public to understand it better. Imaginatively, for example, it has twinned each of the 26 Irish countries with one of our 26 EU partners with a view to stimulating cultural cooperation and public involvement. For my part, I have brought out a book to explain the complexity of Europe in a fresh and engaging way: The European Union in 12 Objects. I illustrate the EU by reference to a dozen everyday objects - including a mirror, a weighing scales and a dictionary. I aim to demonstrate that both the Irish Presidency and Europe more generally, far from being “boring” as the media often imply, are immensely exciting.
My third point concerns the remarkable progress of Cape Verde to the knockout stage of the World Cup . It is a reminder to the Irish Presidency that nothing is inevitable in Europe and that it has to be ready to cope with the unexpected. The impressive resourcing of the Presidency, its cumulative experience, its tight lines of internal communication and its comprehensive advance networking suggest that it is well prepared.
My final gentle analogy between the World Cup and the Presidency concerns penalty shootouts. The largest item on Europe’s agenda during these six months will be to make as much progress as possible, and hopefully reach agreement, on the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework, the MFF. Equipping the EU with a budget up to 2034 that is commensurate, in both financial and policy terms, with the interests of its citizens and with its responsibilities in the wider world is an existential, even sacred, challenge.
I have worked on several MFF negotiations, both in Dublin and Brussels. I know that this Presidency will approach - with ambition, fairness, skill and determination - the double conundrum of reconciling national perspectives and, at the same time, of transforming those diverse aspirations into “something rich and strange”, namely a strong basis for advancing Europe’s profound and urgent interests.
However, we know from experience that partners will only bite the bullet when they believe they’re in the “last chance saloon”. Whether they believe that in December, as they certainly should, remains to be seen. Ireland’s job will be to bring them to the penalty shootout.
