The Government has announced more than €731,000 in funding for 112 organisations and local authorities under the 2026 Communicating Europe Initiative, as Ireland prepares to take over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union on 1 July.
The grants were announced by Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Helen McEntee and Minister of State for European Affairs Thomas Byrne. The Department of Foreign Affairs said the funding will support projects aimed at improving public understanding of the European Union and Ireland’s role within it. The announcement was made at Citywise Education in Jobstown, Tallaght, one of the organisations receiving support under the scheme.
The 2026 funding round has added significance because it comes shortly before Ireland begins its six-month EU Presidency, which will run from 1 July to 31 December 2026. During that period, Ireland will chair and coordinate much of the Council of the European Union’s work, including meetings and negotiations involving ministers and officials from the EU’s 27 member states. The Presidency will see Ireland guide negotiations, broker agreement between member states and support EU law and policy-making.
According to the Department, the Communicating Europe Initiative is intended to bring EU issues closer to communities by funding events, education projects, civic engagement initiatives and local programmes. This year’s awards include funding for schools, youth groups, universities, arts organisations, voluntary bodies, civil society groups and local authorities.
The total allocation announced is €731,459 across 112 projects, with a further reserve of €43,541 retained to support additional projects during the year. Of the total, €465,000 has been allocated to voluntary organisations, educational institutions and civil society groups, while €310,000 is being directed to local authorities. In all, 84 projects were funded across civil society and voluntary organisations, and 28 projects were funded through local authorities.
A major part of the local authority funding is linked to the EU Presidency County Pairings Programme. Under that programme, counties across Ireland are paired with EU member states for the duration of Ireland’s Presidency. The aim is to support engagement between local communities and diplomatic missions from other EU countries.
The Department said local authority projects funded under the Communicating Europe Initiative will help facilitate direct contact between Irish communities and EU member state diplomatic missions in Ireland. The County Pairings Programme is expected to begin in July, following the formal opening of Ireland’s Presidency term.
Minister McEntee said the grant announcement was intended to mark the beginning of a wider effort to bring Europe “directly into communities across the country”. She said the projects would give citizens a voice in discussions about Europe and Ireland’s place within it. She also pointed to the range of successful applicants, including schools, youth groups, community organisations, universities, arts bodies, local authorities and civic initiatives.
Minister Byrne said Ireland was approaching “a significant leadership role” in taking over the Presidency of the Council of the EU. He said the Communicating Europe projects would contribute to a nationwide discussion on EU membership and Ireland’s upcoming Presidency. He also said 2026 had seen the highest number of applicants to the scheme to date.
The Communicating Europe Initiative is not a new scheme. It is a Government funding programme that supports projects designed to deepen public awareness of the EU’s role in daily life and improve public information on European issues at local, regional and national level. The 2026 round, however, has been shaped around Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the EU and the related county pairings programme.
Ireland has held the Presidency of the Council of the European Union seven times before, most recently in 2013. The 2026 term will be Ireland’s eighth Presidency since joining the then European Communities in 1973. Ireland will take over from Cyprus and will be the first country in a new eighteen-month Trio Presidency with Lithuania and Greece.
The Presidency comes at a time when the EU is facing a heavy policy agenda. Issues expected to frame the period include European competitiveness, security, the war in Ukraine, migration, climate targets and the future direction of the single market. The European Commission Representation in Ireland has described the 2026 Presidency as arriving at a challenging moment for the EU, with pressure across security, migration, competitiveness and climate policy.
For Ireland, the Presidency is both a diplomatic role and a domestic engagement opportunity. The formal work will involve chairing meetings, managing negotiations and representing the Council in discussions with other EU institutions. The public-facing side will include cultural, civic, youth and community events aimed at explaining the EU’s role and encouraging public participation. The Presidency will include community connections, youth engagement, a cultural programme and events across the country.
The Government has also carried out a public consultation on the development of Ireland’s Presidency priorities and policy programme. That consultation sought views from domestic stakeholders and the wider public on how Ireland should fulfil the Presidency role and what EU-wide issues should receive attention during the six-month term.
The latest grant announcement therefore sits within a wider preparation effort. While the formal Presidency will involve ministers, civil servants and EU institutions, the Communicating Europe funding is aimed at making the Presidency visible at community level. The Government’s message is that Ireland’s term should not be confined to official meetings in Dublin or Brussels, but should also be used to prompt local conversations about Ireland’s place in Europe.
Successful projects are expected to focus on Ireland’s 2026 Presidency, EU membership and the County Pairings Programme. They will include EU-themed events and public information sessions across the country. A full list of successful projects is available through the Communicating Europe Initiative page here.
The CEI 2026 call for proposals opened on 23 February. The original deadline was 24 March, later extended to 31 March. The Department said the scale of the 2026 initiative reflects the importance being placed on public engagement before and during Ireland’s EU Presidency.
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