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Some 50 international leaders are descending on Dublin this week for two back-to-back European summits that will centre on support for Ukraine, the governance of artificial intelligence and the growing threat of hybrid attacks across the continent.
The Republic of Ireland holds the EU’s rotating presidency until the end of the year, and the two gatherings — a meeting of the European Political Community on Thursday and an informal European Council on Friday — represent its principal diplomatic set pieces. Both are being held at the Convention Centre Dublin.
The EPC, an informal forum established in 2022 in direct response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, meets twice a year to allow European leaders to hold political and strategic discussions. Its theme in Dublin is “Europe — strong, secure, and connected.” Attendees are expected to include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, EU heads of state and Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney. A small number of leaders are expected not to attend; Turkey is among the absentees, as it is hosting the COP31 climate summit.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin will formally welcome guests on Thursday morning before a plenary session. All EPC leaders are then expected to attend a dinner at the National Gallery of Ireland.
Zelensky to Brief Allies, US Envoys to Meet on the Margins
On the sidelines of the EU meetings, a Friends of Ukraine group co-hosted by the United Kingdom and Ukraine will convene, where Zelensky is expected to brief participating leaders on the state of the war. Separately, US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are expected to meet Zelensky in Dublin. Kushner announced the meeting after Ukraine and Russia concluded their second day of US-brokered negotiations in Abu Dhabi. That bilateral encounter is understood to be distinct from the formal EU programme.
Hybrid warfare — a broad term covering cyberattacks, sabotage and disinformation campaigns designed to destabilise adversaries without direct military engagement — is among the agenda items for the EPC plenary, alongside economic security and democratic resilience.
AI Takes Centre Stage at the European Council
Friday’s informal European Council meeting will mark the first time EU leaders have held a dedicated discussion on artificial intelligence. Professor Geoffrey Hinton, widely referred to as the “godfather of AI,” is among the scheduled speakers.
Ireland’s Largest-Ever Security Operation
Ireland has been preparing for the summits for months. The Garda Síochána is conducting what authorities describe as the largest security and policing operation in the history of the state. Parts of Dublin city centre have been closed to traffic, causing widespread disruption in the capital over recent days.
The security backdrop has been complicated by a series of bomb threats — all of which proved to be hoaxes — directed at schools and media organisations in recent days, coming shortly after bomb threats disrupted flights across Europe last week.