Press release, 16 January 2013

Ireland celebrates forty years in the European Union in 2013. Ireland will hold the EU Presidency for the seventh time. The country has a reputation of efficient, impartial and cost-effective Presidency. This time Ireland will try to bring Europe back on track in the context of economic and financial crisis. Smart, job-friendly growth is one of the main priorities of the Irish Presidency. In order to ensure growth, EU Digital Single Market, development of research and innovation will be prioritised and youth unemployment issues will be addressed. Ireland highly appreciates Lithuania’s partnership in the EU Presidency trio.

Philomena Murnaghan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ireland to Lithuania, stressed these points on 16 January at the meeting of the Seimas Committee on European Affairs when she presented the Irish Presidency Policy Programme “For Stability, Jobs and Growth”. The Irish Presidency officially started on 9 January in Dublin. Lithuania and Greece started cooperation in the EU Council Presidency trio alongside Ireland and will take over the EU presidency in July and January next year respectively.

Ireland is similar to Lithuania in its size and resources available. The priorities of the Irish Presidency are inseparable from these three core objectives: ensure economic and financial stability (by establishing the Banking Union and strengthening the Economic and Monetary Union), create jobs (by supporting European digital economy and SMEs) and promote people-centred economic growth designed to last. This time Ireland will face an extremely challenging task during its Presidency as Member States still continue to negotiate the Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020, the agreement should be reached in February.

Ireland will use the Presidency to strengthen the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the EU and to further enhance its role in global development and humanitarian policy, in particular when addressing the challenges such as hunger and climate change. The Presidency will also work to improve the competitiveness of the EU by developing bilateral free trade agreements, especially with the United States of America.

Ireland officially launched the European Year of Citizens in Dublin on 10 January 2013. Ireland will chair in 9 of 10 EU Council Meetings, will hold some 2000 working groups and committee meetings in Brussels and approximately 180 Presidency-related events, 11 of those will be Ministerial meetings in Ireland. The Presidency budget is EUR 60 million.

Morta Vidūnaitė, Advisor to Gediminas Kirkilas, Deputy Speaker of the Seimas,

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