Ireland is set to take over the rotating presidency of the European Union today at a ceremony at Dublin Castle attended by some of the EU's top figures – and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.
An opening ceremony will take place at 2pm local time, followed by a press conference. It has been 13 years since Ireland last chaired the works of the bloc, and the to-do list is only longer this time round.
EU member states will be looking at Ireland to help navigate political talks on new sanctions against Russia and support for Ukraine, as well as tricky accession talks with Moldova, Ukraine and other candidates.
But critics also ask some tough questions on Ireland's credibility to lead the bloc's work on digital given so many of US Big Tech companies – so fiercely defended by Donald Trump – are headquartered in the country.
Elsewhere, Nato's Mark Rutte will be in Berlin today, as he tours EU capitals ahead of next week's Nato summit in Ankara. It's Wednesday, 1 July 2026, it's Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.