Major garda presence in Cork as Ursula von der Leyen arrives for two days of meetings

PRESIDENT OF THE European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will today visit Cork along with the 26 other members of the College of Commissioners.

Ireland’s commissioner is, by a stroke of luck, Cork man and former finance minister Michael McGrath.

The commissioners will be in Cork today and on Friday for meetings with members of the Irish government. The events will be concentrated in the University College Cork (UCC) campus, Cork City Hall, Tyndall National Institute and Hayfield Manor Hotel.

Along with the Taoiseach, Tánaiste Simon Harris and Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee will be in attendance.

The European Commission visit each country that takes over the presidency of the European Council at the beginning of the six-month tenure, where they discuss the presidency programme and deliverables.

For Ireland, this will focus in on the EU’s long-term budget, which is currently being negotiated. There is some discontent amongst world leaders about the proposed degree of spending in this budget, which Ireland will have to mediate over the next six months. 

The Taoiseach and von der Leyen will have a bilateral meeting while visiting, and Irish ministers will discuss their briefs with European commissioners.

To conclude the mid-week gathering, a plenary session will be chaired by the Taoiseach and von der Leyen. 

Speaking ahead of the visit, the Taoiseach said that the long-term budget, work on further integrating the EU’s single market, reducing energy prices and decarbonising the economy will be priorities for Ireland’s time in office.

Simplifying rules and driving the digital and AI transformation were also mentioned.

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“Our discussions will also include issues related to the founding values of the union, including advancing the enlargement file during our presidency,” he continued, highlighting Ukraine’s accession process.

“We will also discuss international issues and I will raise Israel’s persistent and egregious breaches of human rights and international law.”

Disruption

It is understood that there are a number of protests planned in opposition to von der Leyen’s visit, who has faced criticism for her stance on Gaza and the militarisation of the EU.

Similarly-motivated protests were held in Dublin on Tuesday.

While the extent of the disruption is yet to be known, gardaí said that traffic restrictions “in general” for the visit will be kept to the minimum required.

“It is intended that any impact on the public will be localised and minimal,” a garda spokesperson said.

The commissioners will arrive and depart from Cork Airport, where normal operations will continue “at all times”. Members of the public intending to travel from the airport have however been warned that they should allow additional time to arrive at the airport due to possible temporary traffic restrictions, particularly this afternoon and Friday afternoon.

In Cork city, the Gaol Walk between College Road and Western Road is closed until Friday afternoon.

Members of the public living, working, and travelling between UCC and the city centre “can expect localised road closures to facilitate events and temporary rolling road closures by garda motorcycle escorts” this afternoon and evening, and on Friday morning and early afternoon, gardaí said.

There are drone restrictions in place at venues hosting presidency events. The restrictions can be viewed here. Some are issued at short notice for operational reasons.

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