Ireland assumed the Presidency of the Council of the European Union on 1 July 2026, with a programme centred on competitiveness, European values and security.
The Irish Presidency policy programme sets out an ambitious agenda for the second half of 2026, including regulatory simplification, industrial competitiveness, energy security, resilient supply chains, open and fair trade, and the circular economy.
For Europe’s carbon and graphite industry, the Presidency comes at an important moment. European producers continue to face high energy costs, intensifying global competition, regulatory complexity and growing pressure on critical industrial supply chains.
ECGA therefore welcomes the Presidency’s commitment to strengthening European competitiveness, industrial resilience and economic security while advancing the clean energy transition.
Strengthening European industrial competitiveness
The Irish Presidency has identified regulatory simplification and a more integrated Single Market as central elements of its competitiveness agenda.
ECGA supports efforts to advance the Omnibus simplification packages and establish a more coherent and predictable regulatory framework. Reducing unnecessary administrative burdens, while maintaining high environmental and social standards, can help unlock investment, accelerate permitting and support innovation in European industry.
The Industrial Accelerator Act will be another particularly important file. The Presidency has identified it as a flagship initiative intended to support industrial renewal, accelerate decarbonisation and strengthen supply chains in strategic sectors.
As outlined in ECGA’s contribution to the call for evidence on the Industrial Accelerator Act, the legislation must recognise the materials and processes that make Europe’s strategic industrial value chains possible.
For batteries, this means ensuring that measures supporting European production extend beyond cells and finished batteries to include battery anode materials. For low-carbon steel, it means recognising graphite electrodes as an indispensable input for electric arc furnace production.
Europe cannot build resilient industrial ecosystems by supporting only selected parts of the value chain.
Affordable, secure and low-carbon energy
Reliable and competitively priced electricity remains one of the most urgent challenges facing Europe’s energy-intensive industries.
ECGA therefore welcomes the Presidency’s intention to advance the European Grids Package and related energy-security measures. Modernising Europe’s electricity networks, accelerating grid connections and improving permitting will be essential to delivering secure and affordable energy while supporting industrial electrification and decarbonisation.
ECGA has consistently highlighted these requirements in its position on the European Grids Package and its position paper on the EU Action Plan for Affordable Energy. These papers underline that European energy-intensive industries need access to stable, predictable and competitively priced low-carbon electricity if they are to continue investing and producing in Europe.
Without competitive energy conditions, European producers risk losing market share to imports manufactured under less demanding environmental conditions, thereby weakening Europe’s industrial base without reducing global emissions.