Ireland's Department of Finance announced that Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris will travel to Brussels for two days of Eurogroup and Economic and Financial Affairs Council meetings, where he plans to raise concerns about the threat of fresh US tariffs and emerging trade risks linked to Greenland. He will press for coordinated European Union engagement and a response aimed at protecting the rules-based trading system and economic stability. The meetings will also cover the economic and financial situation in Ukraine. ECOFIN is expected to adopt Council Implementing Decisions under the Recovery and Resilience Facility for Spain, Germany, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands and Ireland, with Ireland seeking to maximise its EUR 1.15 billion allocation over the remaining lifetime of the facility, and to approve conclusions on the Alert Mechanism Report that screens for potential macroeconomic imbalances using a scoreboard of indicators; ministers will also discuss the European Commission’s assessment of Member States’ compliance with fiscal rules and exchange views on Council decisions and recommendations under the Excessive Deficit Procedure for Finland. The Eurogroup agenda includes an update on Bulgaria’s euro cash changeover, discussion of priorities for the euro area recommendations for 2026, a debrief from recent G7 meetings, and the start of the selection process for the next Vice-President of the European Central Bank to succeed Luis de Guindos when his mandate ends in May 2026, with candidates put forward by Finland, Latvia, Croatia, Portugal, Lithuania and Estonia. The programme also includes the presentation of the Cypriot Presidency work programme for the next six months, with Ireland due to hold the Presidency in the second half of 2026.

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