Taoiseach to join EU leaders for two-day Brussels summit

Updated / Thursday, 18 Jun 2026 14:26

EU leaders will be joined by Volodymyr Zelensky at the summit in Brussels (File image)

Taoiseach Micheál Martin will join EU leaders for a two-day summit in Brussels this evening, the last European Council meeting before Ireland takes over the EU presidency in July.

Leaders will discuss the latest moves to sanction extremist Israeli ministers and the prospect of an EU ban on goods from illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Also on the agenda will be the negotiations on the next seven-year EU budget - which is expected to dominate the Irish presidency - as well as how the EU should address trade imbalances with China.

Leaders will also take stock of the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding, which will extend the ceasefire in the Gulf for 60 days and will receive an update on the outcome of the G7 summit in Evian, which concluded last night.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will join the start of the summit, where he is expected to welcome the opening of accession negotiations earlier this week.

In a statement ahead of the meeting, Mr Martin said: "There has been an increased focus on European competitiveness at the European Council, and leaders will return to ongoing efforts to strengthen our competitiveness in what continues to be a challenging geo-economic context.

"I look forward to our strategic discussion on the EU’s global economic and trade relations, including with China.

"We will also take stock of the implementation of the 'One Europe, One Market' Roadmap.

"During our presidency term, we will work to make decisive progress across its five strategic building blocks: Promoting simplification; deepening the single market; championing fair and open trade; reducing energy prices while decarbonising our economies; and driving the digital and AI transformation."