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Dublin summit puts energy links alongside Europe's security concerns

Micheál Martin's opening message stresses practical connections, while the broadcast examines what a wider European forum offers smaller states.

Channel: RTÉ News ·

IrelandStory of November 13, 2026Trari Newsroom

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European Political Community - Ireland 2026 | RTÉ News Special

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2:00Martin sets out a summit agenda spanning energy, shared security and stronger connections across Europe.
6:17Laffan explains that the EPC began in autumn 2022 in response to the war in Ukraine.
8:14Moldova's President Maia Sandu arrives and is welcomed by Martin.
13:53Mulhall identifies the absence of the biggest powers as a defining feature of the gathering.
17:21Carthy and Creighton debate Irish neutrality and the push for a common European diplomatic voice.

Connecting Europe means more than bringing its leaders into the same room, Micheál Martin says as he arrives for the European Political Community summit in Dublin. Energy, physical infrastructure and connections between people all feature in the Irish prime minister's account of the gathering's purpose.

RTÉ News, the news service of Ireland's public broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann, follows the arrivals and diplomatic discussions in "European Political Community - Ireland 2026 | RTÉ News Special". Roughly 50 leaders are gathering at the Convention Centre beside the River Liffey, with Ireland hosting during its presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The EPC is broader than the EU: it brings EU and non-EU countries together for political and strategic discussions. Professor Brigid Laffan explains that it began in autumn 2022 as a response to the war in Ukraine. The broadcast shows Martin welcoming Moldova's President Maia Sandu and, later, Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

For former Irish ambassador Dan Mulhall, the forum's significance also lies in who is not there. "This is a gathering which is characterised by one thing: the absence of the really big powers," he says. An outdoor panel with Laffan, former ambassador Bobby McDonagh and politics professor Donnacha Ó Beacháin examines Ireland's diplomatic role and EU enlargement.

Ukraine peace efforts run through the coverage. In a separate report from Dublin, the broadcaster carries US envoy Jared Kushner's statement that a deal cannot be concluded without Europeans at the table, following American representatives' talks in Moscow.

The studio discussion brings that European security question back to Ireland. Sinn Féin parliamentarian Matt Carthy argues for retaining military neutrality, while former European affairs minister Lucinda Creighton joins the debate over how Europe can speak with a unified diplomatic voice.