High politics and traffic chaos: Europe’s leaders are coming to Dublin

Nearly 50 presidents and prime ministers will meet in the Convention Centre for the European Political Community summit this weekTwo European summits will take place in Dublin city centre this week, with an extensive security cordon in place around the Convention Centre. Photograph: Enda O'Dowd/The Irish Times Steam clean the red carpet, test the Wifi again, and watch out for any rogue drones overhead. Europe’s political heavyweights are coming to town. Ireland is hosting back-to-back summits on Thursday and Friday, welcoming 45 European prime ministers and presidents to the Convention Centre in Dublin. The high-level political meetings will necessitate a massive security operation, bringing parts of the city to a standstill. French president Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, UK prime minister Andy Burnham and German chancellor Friedrich Merz are expected to attend, alongside leaders of the other European Union states, and the wider European neighbourhood from the Balkans and the Caucasus to Iceland. The meeting on Thursday of the European Political Community (EPC), the wider group of almost 50 countries, is a relatively new format. Friday will be limited to the EU’s 27 national leaders, who plan to discuss artificial intelligence. READ MOREThere won’t be enough room in Baldonnel airbase or Dublin Airport to park all the jets flying in visiting leaders. Some planes will need to layover in Shannon, before returning to fly out of Dublin on Friday. “It’s an absolutely gigantic event, a once-in-a-generation event that will happen and it’s important that we pull out all the stops,” said Thomas Byrne, Minister of State for European Affairs. Macron pitched the EPC as a way to bring a wider circle of European leaders together after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. For obvious reasons, Vladimir Putin and his ally, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, don’t get an invite. The summit is held twice a year. The job of hosting rotates between an EU member state (whoever is holding the separate EU council presidency at the time) and a European country outside of the union. The EPC is sometimes criticised for being a talking shop, but the get-together has important “symbolic value”, according to Sébastien Maillard, an associate fellow at Chatham House think tank.[ Dublin prepares for EU summit road closures: ‘They have castles and acres for this’Opens in new window ]It emerged as a way to signal Ukraine’s future lay inside the European family, after Kyiv began the years-long journey towards EU membership. “Ukraine is with us, we’re not married yet, but we’re engaged,” Maillard said. The politicians like that the EPC doesn’t take decisions. There’s no haggling over language in any joint communique, or clashes you might expect during an EU summit in Brussels. Canada’s prime minister Mark Carney is joining the Dublin meeting. He was invited and attended the previous EPC in Armenia in May. Nato secretary general Mark Rutte and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen will be attending as well.Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan likely won’t be there and Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sánchez will be tied up fighting a tough election back home. His name isn’t mentioned on any draft agenda but Donald Trump will come up in conversations on the margins. It’ll be a good opportunity for European leaders to gauge each other’s opinion on how the Republican midterm election defeat could play out. French president Emmanuel Macron, Nato secretary general Mark Rutte and Canadian prime minister Mark Carney at the previous European Political Community summit in Yerevan, Armenia. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/Pool/AFP via Getty Images Some of the most useful chats take place in what’s informally called the “leaders’ lounge”, an area set up to accommodate quick one-to-one meetings and smaller huddles. The Ukraine war will feature prominently. Zelenskiy is staring into a €70 billion shortfall in Ukraine’s wartime budget for 2027. He has turned to his friends in Europe – EU states, the UK and Norway, and other western allies such as Canada and Japan – to help make good the gap. Specialist gardaí and Defence Forces personnel are on high alert for attempts by Russia or other malign actors to cause disruption. The week before Denmark staged the event last year several rogue drones mysteriously appeared over airports and military bases. Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen privately told fellow EU leaders she suspected Russian meddling. An extensive security cordon will surround the Convention Centre. Access to the north quays near the venue will be closed from Tuesday morning until Friday evening. Gardaí and council workers open manhole covers on Macken Street as part of a security operation close to the Convention Centre Dublin. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill/The Irish Times Garda motorcycle escorts will bring delegations from Dublin Airport and Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel, resulting in rolling road closures. Expect heaviest disruption on Wednesday afternoon, Thursday morning and Friday evening. Irish officials canvassed European colleagues for advice. The feedback was to get the food right and make sure the Wifi works. There’ll be an official dinner in the National Gallery. No surprise, the evening cultural programme includes music and a poetry reading.The EPC is also a chance for western Balkan states hoping to join the EU in the near future to press their case. “We’ll be using the opportunity to beat the drum for enlargement,” one Government source added. Friday’s meeting, which is limited to EU leaders, will consider how Europe can become a “leading and sovereign player” in the AI race, according to preparatory papers sent to capitals this week. Negotiations about the union’s next seven-year budget will feature in the chatter between leaders on the sidelines.Some are bringing large entourages of advisers and officials. Several thousand delegates are expected to attend in total and hundreds of journalists. The Department of Foreign Affairs estimated the bill will come to at least €15 million, before you add in substantial security costs.[ Bomb threats heighten tensions as world leaders due to meet in DublinOpens in new window ]Government sources are quietly confident a threatened public sector strike pencilled in for Thursday will be averted. Industrial action would be a big headache. More than 400 public servants are rostered to be working on the ground on the day. Organising a well-run European summit doesn’t win many votes. It’s different for smaller states outside the EU, who might enjoy a political boost from hosting a large international gathering. The previous EPC in Yerevan, Armenia, helped its government make the case for the south Caucasus country to continue a westward pivot away from Moscow’s control.Armenia’s prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, formed an unlikely musical double act with Macron during a state dinner for the occasion. Pashinyan was on the drums, while the French president sang. A video of the pair in action did the rounds on the internet.[ ‘I don’t think anybody can rule that out’: McEntee says Russia could be behind threatsOpens in new window ]“I have six months to practice the drums,” Taoiseach Micheál Martin joked in Yerevan at the time. The Taoiseach has until Thursday to come up with a party piece. IN THIS SECTION