The recent hiring of a former senior Meta lobbyist as an Irish Data Protection Commissioner has sparked some controversy in Brussels. But it is just the latest example of Ireland’s inability to read the room – any room – across the European Union institutions. While Ireland might try to characterise the appointment as a poacher-turned-gamekeeper scenario, the rest of the EU is more likely to view Ireland as doubling down on its incestuous relationship with US technology companies – a relationship frequently seen as prioritising US interests over the application of EU rules.
Our forthcoming presidency of the European Council will see official Ireland revel in the pageantry and photo ops of the six months from July 2026 – but it will also underline just how disconnected Ireland has become from the EU’s current balance of power.
Take one of the self-professed objectives of Ireland’s EU presiden
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