EU Policy Outlook 

At the midpoint of Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the EU, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made her State of the European Union 2026 address. This address acts as a precursor to the annual Commission Work Programme, which outlines the full legislative agenda for the year ahead and is due to be published in early November. Combined with the October European Council conclusions, the EU has set out clear indications of the direction of travel for the rest of the year and into 2027.

For Irish businesses, the Commission’s thematic focus on resilience, autonomy, security and defence sets a defining tone. The Commission underlined “kickstarting the European economy” as the number one priority for Member States and the EU institutions while competitiveness priorities constitute roughly 15% of the European Council conclusions amid an array of geopolitical topics including Ukraine, the Middle East, Defence and Security, and Enlargement. Both institutions converge on delivering the One Europe, One Market Roadmap to bolster competitiveness, avoiding regulatory gold-plating and reducing administrative burdens. This push to reach agreement on complex files like the EU Inc and the Industrial Accelerator Act by year-end underscores the exceptionally compressed timeline facing the Irish Presidency. Despite the positive intentions to move quickly, significant files such as the Industrial Accelerator Act must not compromise on quality.

On trade, the Commission highlighted its push for market diversification citing the EU’s 80 active Free Trade Agreements and proposed to make Canada the EU’s first-ever “associate member” to deepen industrial and technological integration. Strikingly, there was no direct mention of the US or strengthening the transatlantic economy. Regarding security, the Commission’s proposed Emergency Security Council and European Corporation on Critical Raw Materials closely aligns with the European Council’s strong emphasis on countering hybrid attacks and securing strategic supply chains. Crucially, while President von der Leyen’s remarks focused heavily on the long-term energy transition and grid deployment, the European Council conclusions adopted a more immediate focus on mitigating exceptionally high energy prices, including reviewing the Emissions Trading System (ETS) impacts. Both institutions agree that reducing the EU’s energy dependence is a prerequisite for Europe's economic competitiveness.

There is much alignment in the high-level goals of the Commission and the European Council conclusions, while the former presents a longer-term emphasis on resilience, the latter prioritises immediate policy action on competitiveness. As an honest broker, Ireland must leverage the remainder of its Presidency to ensure these converging agendas deliver practical legislation that genuinely enhances enterprise competitiveness across Europe.

Regulatory Simplification & Beyond

A stable, predictable and coherent regulatory framework facilitates competitiveness and enables investment and growth. Irish businesses operate across a fragmented legislative landscape where uncoordinated national gold-plating inflates compliance expenses and disrupts cross-border supply chains. Although Ibec welcomes the simplification agenda and the European Commission’s commitment to reduce regulatory burden by 25% by 2029, our members are yet to feel these measures making a difference on the ground. The net cumulative impact of this legislation, much of which has not yet been fully implemented across the EU, has been assessed by Denmark and Cyprus during their Presidencies. The two presented reports compiling the costs and benefits of all Commission proposals that had not yet been adopted, based on of the Commission’s available Impact Assessments. The Irish Presidency has confirmed their intention to continue this work, and are expected to produce an update in December, which is anticipated to effectively demonstrate the cumulative cost burden facing European businesses. For Irish businesses, this cumulative regulatory burden is fundamentally a Single Market access issue; diverging national requirements fragment the Single Market, inflate compliance costs and complicate cross-border supply chains.

To counter this fragmentation, Ibec has intensified advocacy across Dublin and Brussels. In our submission to the Commission’s consultation on gold-plating, Ibec provided cross-sectoral case studies demonstrating where national divergence fragments the Single Market. Co-hosting a high-level event with BusinessEurope titled “One Europe, One Market Roadmap: Are we close?”, Ibec highlighted the gold-plating issue for Irish business directly to Peter Burke T.D., Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Declan Hughes, Secretary General of the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Bertrand L’Hullier, Head of Cabinet for the European Commission Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy, Stéphane Séjourné, and relevant officials from the EU institutions. Furthermore, as part of the B9+ Alliance of business federations, Ibec authored joint policy recommendations advocating for a targeted Digital Omnibus that embeds 'simplification by design', safeguards trade secrets, preserves legitimate interest processing for AI models, and streamlines incident reporting into single-entry portals.

Anchored by the themes of Competitiveness, Security, and Values, and guided by the One Europe, One Market Roadmap, the Irish Presidency has committed to decisive progress on regulatory simplification. Translating this high-level political ambition into a streamlined regulatory framework requires dismantling national gold-plating, securing cross-institutional buy-in, and installing solid governance structures to take action on Single Market integration across Member States and the EU institutions.

Shared Prosperity: The European Engine Driving Ireland's Economic Edge

Ireland’s economic growth has often been framed around geographic or physical capital factors. However, our real competitive edge lies in our relationship capital. As Ireland leads the Presidency of the Council of the EU, Ibec launched original research quantifying this advantage. "Shared Prosperity: The European Engine Driving Ireland's Economic Edge" explores how this strategic partnership transforms Ireland into a resilient, high-value international hub. Ireland has capitalised on the Single Market of 450 million consumers across the European Union, and these gains are clearly on display in the Irish economy. This first-of-its-kind report revealed the immense impact of European enterprise on the Irish economy.

Ireland’s strength relies on shared prosperity: Approximately 280,000 workers employed by European firms in Ireland generate a €16 billion annual payroll. At the time of the last Census, around 258,000 European workers were employed in the Irish labour market, comprising roughly 10% of the total workforce: 5.2% from the EU and 5% from UK and European neighbours. The firms employing these workers power local communities and demonstrate the interconnectivity and mobility of European labour markets. Ireland is deeply embedded within the EU Single Market, the wider European Economic Area, and the Eurozone, alongside enduring economic ties with our closest neighbours.

Over the past five decades Ireland has embraced investment and trade with other markets, including the US. On average, European companies alone invest €4.5 billion in physical capital annually. Investment in physical infrastructure such as transport, energy and connectivity not only improve the lives of citizens in Ireland but also lays the foundations for businesses all sizes to grow and develop here. These investments have been crucial as relationships with trusted partners have catalysed Ireland’s evolution from an agrarian economy into a high-value international hub for sectors such as finance, technology, life sciences, food and drink, and research and innovation.

In September, Ibec launched this first-of-its-kind study with Minister for European Affairs Thomas Byrne in the Irish Film Institute in Temple Bar. The event included an industry panel including member companies who provided case studies for the report including Ericsson, Danone, and Schneider Electric. The message from the panellists and from Ibec was clear: Ireland’s strength relies on shared prosperity.