Ireland’s EU Council Presidency – 2026 priorities for the financial services sector

Ireland’s six-month Presidency comes at a time of heightened geopolitical and economic uncertainty and against a backdrop of persistent financial stability concerns, which will sharpen the EU’s focus on resilience, competitiveness and strategic autonomy. This wider context is also likely to influence the pace and direction of political negotiations on financial services legislative files during Ireland’s term.

In this article, we outline the legislative priorities in the Programme for Presidency that are most relevant to the financial services sector. Many of these proposals form part of the EU’s broader drive to deepen capital markets and support investment under the European Commission’s ‘Savings and Investments Union’ strategy. For in-house legal and compliance teams, the Presidency matters because it will help determine the pace and direction of negotiations on several files with potential operational, governance and compliance implications for firms across Ireland and the wider EU.

The Programme for Presidency is framed around three interlocking pillars:

• Values - fostering prosperity and well-being.
• Security - upholding the foundation of the EU.
• Competitiveness - protecting citizens.

During its Presidency, Ireland will work on legislative proposals within each pillar, as well as on priorities that span all three.

The legislative priorities most relevant to the EU financial services sector will be driven by the Council’s Economic and Financial Affairs Council. These include the following:

• Savings and Investments Union - concluding negotiations on the ‘Market Integration and Supervision Package’ with a view to reaching political agreement by the end of 2026. 
• Sustainable finance - engaging in trilogue negotiations on revisions to the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation.
• Digital euro - commencing trilogue negotiations for an agreement on the legislative framework for a digital euro.
• Securitisation framework - continuing trilogue negotiations on the revised securitisation framework with a view to reaching political agreement.
• Simplification - facilitating discussions on the Commission’s report on the competitiveness of the banking sector with a view to promoting simplification and a level playing field in the internal market.
• Capital markets updates - commencing negotiations on the review of the Regulation on European Venture Capital Funds (EuVECA) improving options for growth companies to exit the venture capital stage (Investment Exits) once proposals on both are brought forward by the Commission.
• Pensions package - progressing negotiations on the Supplementary Pensions Package with a view to reaching political agreement by the end of 2026.

The Programme for Presidency is ambitious, particularly in relation to politically sensitive reforms such as market integration and supervision, with a lot of matters to progress in six months. That said, its direction is consistent with the European Commission’s broader focus on strengthening the single market, boosting competitiveness and mobilising investment. For financial services firms, the key takeaway is that Ireland’s Presidency is likely to be an important period for the progression of a number of significant financial services files, and firms should continue to monitor developments closely as negotiations advance during the second half of 2026.

General information about Ireland’s Presidency is available on the Government’s website here and the Council’s website here.

For further information or to discuss any of the legislative files mentioned in this article, please contact Eoin O Connor, Partner, Patrick Brandt, Partner, Eimear O’Brien, Partner, Louise Hogan, Partner, Sarah Lee, Senior Practice Development Lawyer or your usual ALG contact.

Date published: 12 June 2026