18/08/2026
Ireland took over the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU on 1 July 2026, right as Europe entered into two of its most consequential negotiations in years: the digital rulebook overhaul and a rewrite of corporate tax rules. As president, Ireland doesn’t just have a seat at the table – it chairs it, deciding what gets discussed and when.
That’s exactly where the source of an inherent conflict lies between the Irish government and its economics interest, according to the open letter published on 24 July 2026 calling on Ireland to recuse itself from both files entirely.
Why Ireland, specifically?
Google, Meta, Apple, Microsoft, OpenAI, TikTok, and X all chose Ireland as their EU home base… which makes Ireland’s Data Protection Commission the primary privacy regulator for nearly the entire bloc. The letter argues that responsibility hasn’t been matched by enforcement:
- After a decade of GDPR, Ireland has yet to conclude a single EU-wide inquiry into Google
- In 2023, Ireland took the unusual step of suing every other EU data protection authority in Luxembourg, seeking to annul an order that it investigate Meta’s handling of sensitive personal data
- Ireland’s current Data Protection Commissioner previously worked as Meta’s chief lobbyist in the country
- Ahead of the presidency, Ireland’s Foreign Minister met with a Meta lobbyist to discuss presidency priorities
And then there’s the tax question
Ireland’s fiscal track record draws similar scrutiny. The European Commission’s landmark 2016 ruling found Apple owed €13 billion in back taxes after using the “Double Irish” scheme to funnel profits from across Europe through Ireland, at one point taxing them at an effective rate of 0.005%. The EU courts upheld that finding in 2024 but the letter cites research suggesting Apple has since rebuilt a comparable structure, avoiding a further €20+ billion in EU taxes since 2016. Ireland formally scrapped the Double Irish scheme in 2014. The letter’s concern is that the underlying pattern hasn’t gone away: it points to Temu’s Dublin-based EU operations in 2025 as a similar-looking arrangement, and to EU prosecutors flagging Ireland as a hub for shell companies tied to cross-border tax fraud.
The ask
The letter’s demand is specific: hand the negotiation of the digital and tax files to the next country in the Council rotation (Lithuania) for the duration of Ireland’s term. It frames this as a practical fix, not a punitive one: Ireland keeps the presidency, but steps back from chairing exactly the two policy areas where its economic model creates a direct conflict of interest.
Trust can’t be assumed
The Council presidency is far from ceremonial: the country holding it sets the pace and shape of EU negotiations for six months. When that country is also home to the first immediate regulator and tax base of nearly every major US and Chinese tech firm operating in Europe, critics argue that neutrality can’t be assumed but must be demonstrated.
This is TGL’s demand, alongside a coordinated push from across civil society, we’re among the signatories calling for Ireland to step back.