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This reply comes just four days ahead of the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOT), reiterating the Commission's commitment to LGBTIQ+ rights and to building a true union of Equality. The Commission has analysed the legal possibilities and intends to adopt a Commission Recommendation, calling on EU Member States to ban conversion practices.

The European Commission adopted a Global Health Resilience Initiative. This strategy positions the EU as a reliable and frontline actor in global health by scaling up global prevention, preparedness and response to future health threats and addressing resilience gaps in health systems, and allows Europe to respond quicker to health threats and crises in an interconnected world.

On 12 May, the European Commission raised €10 billion of EU-Bonds in its 5th syndicated transaction for 2026. The Commission is empowered by the EU Treaties to borrow from the international capital markets on behalf of the European Union to finance selected EU policy programmes.

The European Commission opened a call for expression of interest to join the first-ever European Housing Alliance, a pioneering initiative to rally stakeholders around efforts to address the housing crisis, which is impacting millions of Europeans.

The European Commission welcomes the political agreement reached between the European Parliament and the Council of the EU on the Commission's proposal for a Regulation on the protection of adults in cross-border situations. The Regulation will safeguard adults who, due to a disability or health-related limitations, are not in a position to fully protect their own interests in a cross-border situation.

The European Commission has proposed new rules to make seamless travel across Europe a reality. The three proposals adopted today simplify planning and booking for regional, long-distance and cross-border travel, particularly for rail journeys involving multiple operators, and ensure better protection for rail passengers for the entire journey.

52% of Irish respondents expressed trust towards European Commission in the 2026 Eurobarometer Spring Survey. Across the EU, trust levels in the European Commission climbed to 51%, the second highest proportion ever recorded. Danish (77%) and Portuguese (76%) citizens showed the highest levels of trust towards the European Commission, while the lowest rates were recorded in Greece (28%) and France (40%).

In the Spring 2026 Standard Eurobarometer Survey, 93% of Irish citizens viewed Ireland’s membership in the European Union as beneficial, marking the highest rate of all member states. On average, seven in ten EU citizens stated that their country has on balance benefited from EU membership. The lowest rates were recorded in Bulgaria (54%), Greece (57%) and France (58%).

The European Commission has launched a public consultation on the Birds Directive and the Habitats Directive. The contributions will feed into the stress-test of both directives. It is part of the Commission's wider simplification initiative to strengthen EU competitiveness while continuing to safeguard environmental, economic and social goals.

The European Commission welcomes the Council's Recommendation on the New European Bauhaus (NEB), a major step in advancing the initiative's implementation across Europe. The NEB initiative supports the transformation of European neighbourhoods and the built environment into spaces that are not only sustainable but also inclusive, affordable, and improve people's quality of life.

The European Commission welcomes the landmark political agreement on the Critical Medicines Act between the Council and the European Parliament. This marks an important milestone in strengthening the resilience of Europe's health sector by preventing medicine shortages and improving the security of supply of critical medicines across the EU.

On 12 May, the European Commission and Ukraine reaffirmed their 2023 commitment to strengthening cooperation in the field of education and skills as a key pillar of Ukraine's recovery, reconstruction and path towards EU accession at a High-Level Dialogue between Executive Vice-President for Social Rights and Skills, Quality Jobs and Preparedness, Roxana Mînzatu, and the Ukrainian Minister of Education and Science, Oksen Lisovyi.

On Europe Day we celebrated in Dublin with European Commissioner Michael McGrath. The day marks the Schuman Declaration - the moment we chose peace, cooperation and unity over division and conflict. Beannachtaí Lá na hEorpa!

A mirror? Window? Perhaps a globe? What object best says ‘EU’ to you? Bobby McDonagh, Former Ambassador to the EU and UK, discusses the twelve objects which he believes get to the heart of the European Union. Register now to attend this session, in conversation with Prof Brigid Laffan, at the International Literature Festival in Dublin.

We were privileged to hear from an outstanding selection of speakers on 7 May, including Irish Times China Correspondent Denis Staunton, former Irish ambassador to China Eoin O'Leary, and David Rennie former Beijing Bureau Chief for The Economist and currently The Economist’s Geopolitics Editor who joined online from London. Paddy Smyth, former Europe Editor of the Irish Times, chaired the exchange of views.

More than 200 children and players took part in Gaelic Games sessions across 10 European cities on Europe Day 2026, as the European Commission Representation in Ireland and the GAA came together to mark the occasion through a continent-wide programme of Go Games events organised in partnership with Gaelic Games Europe.

Under EU rules, the use of antimicrobials in livestock for growth or yield purposes is not allowed, nor can animals be treated with antimicrobials reserved for human infections. The list of third countries which comply with EU requirements, and therefore can export food-producing animals to the EU, will be formally adopted in the coming days.

The European Commission is taking action to coordinate and support national authorities' responses to the Hantavirus outbreak. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has assessed the risk to the general population in Europe as very low, given that appropriate infection prevention and control measures are being implemented and that hantaviruses are not easily spread between people.

On 11 May, representatives of the European Union, Ukraine and Canada hosted a ‘High-level Meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children’. This initiative was announced by European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, in her 2025 State of the Union address, to reaffirm a shared commitment to stepping up actions for securing the return of every Ukrainian child forcibly transferred or unlawfully deported by Russia.

The European Commission has today launched a public consultation inviting all interested parties to comment on its draft revised Guidelines on State aid to the air transport sector. These will replace the existing Guidelines, which were adopted in 2014. Interested parties are invited to respond to the public consultation by 11 June 2026.