- From 1 July to 31 December 2026, Ireland will hold the Presidency of the Council of the EU. In its programme, the Irish Presidency set out the following priorities in relation to taxation:
- prioritise the EU tax simplification agenda and seek to significantly progress and conclude the recast of the Directive on Administrative Cooperation (DAC)
- advance work on the expected Tax Simplification Omnibus, including simplification of the Anti-Tax Avoidance Directives and other corporate tax rules, with a view to reducing compliance and administrative burdens
- continue the work of the Code of Conduct Group (Business Taxation), including updating the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes
- monitor the implementation and impacts of the OECD Global Minimum Tax (Pillar Two) and the Side-by-Side solution, and encourage implementation of further OECD-agreed simplification
- continue engagement with international tax matters through OECD and UN fora
- progress work on the proposed extension of the EU CBAM and the Temporary Decarbonisation Fund
- pursue agreement among member states on the revision of the Tobacco Tax Directive
- progress work amending the EU VAT Framework and advance any VAT proposals issued by the European Commission during the Presidency
- Timing: the Irish Presidency runs for six months, from 1 July to 31 December 2026. The individual dossiers are at different stages of the legislative process and therefore have different expected timelines.
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EU Council Presidency tax priorities
Last updated: 03/11/2026
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