On January 1, 2013, Ireland took over the presidency of the Council of the European Union from Cyprus. This is the seventh time that Ireland holds the EU presidency. It has previously held the presidency in 1975, 1979, 1984, 1990, 1996 and 2004.

January 1, 2013 also marks the 40th anniversary of Ireland’s accession to the European Union. Back in 1973, Ireland’s main challenge was to adapt itself to the requirements of membership and to ensure that its economy competed in this new and more challenging environment.

Today, Dublin faces different challenges. On the domestic front, the debt ridden country recently received a multi-billion euro ‘bailout’ from the EU and the IMF. The country is trying, with some success, to boost economic growth and job creation while driving down its deficit. It also hopes to become the first country to emerge from the EU/IMF bailout programme.

The crisis has brought about a number of austerity measures that meant huge economic sacrifices for the Irish population. Such measures, which need to be sustained, may cause political unrest at home.

Moreover, Dublin has been arguing for months that, unless it gets some relief from Brussels on €64 billion in bank debt still sitting on its sovereign books (legacy bank debts), it may not recover from the EU/IMF bailout programme.

On the European front, 2013 will be a crucial year for the EU in its road to economic recovery.

The EU will face three main challenges, namely: repairing the monetary union; reinforcing the economic union; and reviewing the political union.

It will also be essential for member states to reach an agreement on the Multiannual Financial Framework for 2014-2020 (the long-term EU budget framework).

In addition, British Prime Minister David Cameron’s attempts to win back powers from the EU are a further cause for concern.

This is not the first time that the Irish presidency comes at a pivotal moment for Europe. The last time Ireland held the EU presidency was in 2004.

It was during the 2004 Irish presidency that the EU’s largest enlargement took place.

In 2004, Ireland had also managed to find an agreement on the text of the treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. Therefore, judging by its previous performance at the helm of Europe, one can rightly be positive in an outlook of Ireland’s performance in the next six months.

The role of the rotating EU presidency has, in recent years, diminished.

This is mainly attributable to the position under the Lisbon Treaty whereby the Prime Minister of a rotating presidency no longer chairs European Council meetings (meetings of Heads of State and Government). That role is played by European Council President Herman Van Rompuy.

Nevertheless, the presidency of the EU Council still presents an opportunity for the incumbent member state to shape the EU agenda and prioritise issues that it considers to be particularly important. Ireland’s stated priorities for the coming six months are stability, jobs and growth.

Striking an agreement on the MFF for 2014-2020 will, in all probability, be one of Ireland’s top priorities. After failing to reach an agreement in November 2012, member states will again try to reach an agreement at the European Council of February 7-8. The presidency has a crucial role in finding a compromise on this very important dossier.

Other priorities include:

Lasting stability. The Irish presidency will work to effectively implement the Union’s new economic governance measures and, in particular, the European Semester process. The presidency will also push for progress on the Banking Union proposals and financial services reform.

Youth unemployment. Ireland is expected to tackle the high levels of youth unemployment in the EU by making progress on a number of proposals related to this sector.

During the European Year of Citizens in 2013, the presidency also plans to make progress on a range of initiatives aimed to promote free movement across the EU and to protect workers’ rights.

Legislation to promote the digital economy and measures aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises. On this front, Ireland is expected to push forward measures in areas including cyber security, e-signatures/e-Identification, data protection, high speed broadband rollout and web accessibility.

In relation to SMEs, the presidency is expected to propose measures aimed at improving access to credit, public procurement opportunities and research funding.

A focus on the potential of natural resources on land as well as at sea.

The promotion of trade agreements and the pursuit of the enlargement agenda (Croatia is expected to join the Union on July 1. Other issues concern the opening of accession negotiations with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia).

Although it might be challenging for Dublin to find a balance between its domestic agenda and the greater European programme, the presidency is surely an occasion for it to recast Ireland’s image as a successful European story.

Malta will take over the presidency of the EU Council from Slovakia in January 2017.

This article is written in the author’s personal capacity.

Jean-Pierre Schembri is the spokesman of the European Asylum Support Office.

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