On 1st July 2026, the Republic of Ireland has assumed the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EFN for six months, following up on the Cyprus EU Presidency.
Importantly, the Irish EU Presidency will advance several important topics for the EFN under the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO), including:
- The Quality Jobs Roadmap and Act, and the forthcoming Fair Labour Mobility Package, which aim to address multiple dimensions of quality jobs, such as working conditions, access to social protection, skills and equality, social dialogue and collective bargaining.
- Strengthening an EU approach towards improving occupational safety and health (OSH).
- Improving the implementation of existing EU legislation to improve labour conditions.
- The development of Council recommendations on fighting housing exclusion, building on the EU Housing Plan. In this regard, the EFN will work to ensure alignment between the Council Conclusions and the outcomes of the EFN April 2026 Tour De Table on Housing.
- Strengthening the EU Preparedness towards health crises and cross-border health security threats.
Moreover, EFN is working towards ensuring that the Irish EU Presidency will advance on the key recommendations on Safe Staffing Levels and Advanced Practice Nursing (APN) put forward by the European Parliament SANT-EMPL Own-Initiative Report (INI) on the EU Health Workforce, which is set to be voted in the Plenary in September 2026.
The Irish EU Presidency 2026 will be followed by the Lithuanian EU Presidency in January 2027, and EFN is already in contact with them to ensure that they will pick up the work started by the Irish EU Presidency.