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Morning opening: Ireland takes presidency of the EU
Jakub Krupa
Ireland is set to take over the rotating presidency of the EU Council today at a ceremony at Dublin Castle attended by some of the EU’s top figures – and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
An opening ceremony will take place 2pm local time, followed by a press conference. I will bring you all the key lines here.
It has been 13 years since it 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.
I will bring you all the latest.
It’s Wednesday, 1 July 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
Key events
At the ceremony, attended by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Martin pledged Ireland’s continued support for Ukraine.
We will stand unswervingly by the people of Ukraine, inspired by their courage, and determined to ensure that they get the peace and justice they deserve.
Holding the presidency is an honour and a responsibility, and we are ready to give it our all.
Martin: ‘Ireland has always been a deeply European country’
In his speech at the ceremony, Ireland’s prime minister, Micheál Martin, said his country “has always been a deeply European country”.
From the monks who travelled Europe, keeping the light of learning alive through the dark ages, to the young Erasmus students of today, we’ve always been proud Europeans.
Together with our European partners, we have built a union that we are honoured to call home. We have weathered storms and crises together and we have celebrated in joy together, knowing that we are always stronger together.
The ceremony marking the start of Ireland’s presidency of the Council of the European Union at Dublin Castle has begun, you can watch that here:
An update on the fire in Antwerp, where authorities have raised the death toll to six.
Reuters reported survivors of the fire in a 10-storey apartment block in the Belgian city described being trapped inside until police and firefighters arrived shortly after the blaze started in the morning. The building was believed to house about 200 people, according to the news agency.
In his speech, Martin said there was “an urgent need to improve Europe’s competitiveness”.
He added:
We have to plan for how we’re going to get there. It is one of our most important tasks of presidency, and I look forward to briefing my fellow leaders on progress at the meetings of the European Council in the autumn.”
In Dublin, António Costa, the president of the European Council, has delivered a speech at a press conference with Ireland’s prime minister, Micheál Martin, at the launch of the Irish presidency of the EU council.
Costa says the Irish presidency comes at a pivotal moment, as Europe faces a demanding six months in which it must deliver on competitiveness, security and the EU’s next long-term budget.
In his remarks, he said:
In the face of growing external pressures on our prosperity, the European Union has set itself the goal to become both more competitive and more autonomous. Indeed, after having defence as a main focus in 2025, 2026 is the year of European competitiveness.
That is why we have set ourselves an ambitious ‘One Europe, One Market’ agenda. Over the next six months, we must deliver on its implementation. And it is hard to think of a better pilot to guide the European Union in this work than Ireland.”
He added:
As for Europe’s values and Europe’s security – they are being put to the test in a challenging global geopolitical context. But in navigating these difficult waters, the European Union has a clear compass – international law – and a clear map – multilateralism and the rules based international order. That is another reason why Ireland – with its consistent and principled defence of both multilateralism and international law – is the right presidency at the right time.”
At least five people killed in Antwerp fire, police say
Back to Antwerp, the local police have confirmed to local media that at least five people died in the fire, with searches still continuing.
The emergency services are still there responding to the incident.
Zelenskyy arrives in Ireland for EU presidency events
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy has just arrived in Ireland for today’s EU presidency events.
In a post on X, he says:
“Arrived in Ireland to take part in the opening ceremony of Ireland’s presidency of the Council of the European Union. I will also meet with taoiseach Micheál Martin and President of the European Council António Costa.
Every day, Ukraine proves that it deserves to be an equal part of our shared European home. And we hope that during Ireland’s presidency of the Council of the European Union, we will be able to achieve tangible progress on the path to membership and open all negotiating clusters.”
Several reportedly killed, injured in apartment block fire in Antwerp
Several people were killed and many injured in a fire that broke out on Wednesday morning in an apartment block in the Belgian city of Antwerp, local police said on their website.
The local fire department received a call at 9:53 am regarding a “raging fire” in the eighth floor of a 10-floor apartment block in the Linkeroever area of Antwerp, police said, as reported by Reuters. The operation is still ongoing.
There is very little clarity as to the exact number of killed and injured at this stage, as emergency services are still responding to the incident.
The building reportedly house more than 200 people.
I will bring you more on this as soon as we have more details.
The presser ends with a couple of questions on the strait of Hormuz and Germany’s plans to contribute to allied minesweeping operations there, with Merz and Pistorius both saying essentially they need a working ceasefire first, and that’s it.
Rutte, Merz insist US is committed to supporting Ukraine
Rutte gets a tricky question about the US commitment to helping Ukraine, but he stays on message.
He says “when it comes to the defence of Ukraine, the US is still indispensable,” as he points to the flow of US armaments into Ukraine, paid for by Canadians and Europeans.
Merz jumps in to highlight the conclusions adopted at the recent G7 summit, with clear support for Ukraine.
“The US president was with us, he signed the document, and so this is the clear position of those who are in G7, and that is something we can rely on when we have this meeting next week,” he says.
Merz gets asked about Germany’s preparation for Nato summit next week.
He repeats Pistorius’s favourite line that “Nato needs to become more European in order to remain transatlantic.”
He says Nato is changing not purely under pressure from Trump, but “in our own interest.”
Riiiiight.
There are also some questions about domestic issues and the government’s reform agenda, but Merz says he will brief the press on that tomorrow.
Merz and Pistorius get asked about reported deals with the US to produce US weapons under licence in Germany, and whether that contradicts the message of making Nato more European.
They say that’s not the case, and it’s part of that transition, as Europeans do not have certain systems – “not yet” – and so they can help with the US capacity in the meantime.
“We want to become more independent, but we don’t want to do without closer cooperation with the US,” Pistorius say.
‘We must keep up pressure on Russia,’ Rutte tells Germany ahead of Nato summit
Nato’s Rutte begins with lavish praise for Germany, as he says “Germany leads and Germany delivers.”
He says Germany is “on track to invest 3.5% in GDP in defence by 2029,” which he says is “an extraordinary achievement.”
“Increasing defence investments means making tough decisions, but it is the right thing to do when we face a more dangerous world,” he says.
He also hails Germany as “an industrial powerhouse with major defence companies and world-class research institutions.”
“Nato’s message to industry across the alliance is clear: be ready, speed up, work together, open new production lines, expand supply chains, and deliver quickly what we need to our security. Deterrence is built in factories as much as is projected by our armed forces.”
He also praises Germany’s new deployments, including in Estonia, Lavia, Lithuania.
He says Berlin is “a leader on Ukraine,” as he adds:
“We agree we must keep up the pressure on Russia, even when its war against Ukraine ends, Russia will remain a long-term threat to Euro-Atlantic security.”
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