WATCH: Irish diplomats say Ireland to use EU Council Presidency to push pro-Caribbean agenda

Ireland will use its upcoming Presidency of the Council of the European Union to advance a “pro-Caribbean” agenda within the 27-member bloc, Ireland’s Ambassador to Antigua and Barbuda, John Concannon, has revealed, as Dublin prepares to take over the rotating chair from 1 July to 31 December this year.

Speaking to Antigua.News alongside Shane Ryan, Director of Ireland’s Office for the Caribbean, the Ambassador said Irish ministers across finance, transport, tourism and other portfolios would host more than 300 major events during the six-month term, offering repeated openings for Caribbean concerns to be placed on the EU agenda.

The commitment comes as Antigua and Barbuda, and other Caribbean states continue to press for international recognition of the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI), concessional climate financing, and debt relief mechanisms suited to small island developing states.

Prime Minister Gaston Browne has been among the most vocal advocates for these reforms on the global stage.

Director Ryan said Ireland’s advocacy for the Caribbean operates across multiple forums — not only the EU but also the United Nations and the Multilateral Development Banks in Washington, where Ireland and Canada share a constituency with the Caribbean.

The Ambassador framed Ireland’s engagement as a standing offer rather than one tied to the Presidency term.

As part of its Presidency agenda, Ireland will host a Caribbean–Latin America Trade Summit on 13 May in Dublin, to which all Caribbean governments, including Antigua and Barbuda, have been invited.

Ambassador Concannon said he hoped the future Antiguan and Barbudan administration, following the conclusion of the current general election, would send a delegation.