Taoiseach Simon Harris will travel to Brussels for an informal meeting of EU leaders.
It is expected they will hold preliminary discussions on who should be the President of the European Commission for the next five years – with Ursula von der Leyen seeking a second term.
The meeting will not decide Mr Von der Leyen’s political fate, but it should provide a clear indication as to how solid her chances are.
The Taoiseach, citing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza and climate change, said the people of Europe need and deserve stability and direction.
He added that it is imperative that the European Council completes all appointments to the EU institutions as quickly as possible.
The expectation is that EU leaders will ultimately support Ms von der Leyen and her name will be proposed to the European Parliament for approval.
Speaking on RTÉ’s This Week programme yesterday, Ireland’s EU Commissioner Mairead McGuinness declared that Ms Von der Leyen is guaranteed the four Fine Gael votes but is not the other ten.
In the European Parliament in 2019, Ms von der Leyen secured the top job at the European Commission by just nine votes.
Some MEPs who backed her then, like Fianna Fáil’s Billy Kelleher, say they will not support her this time due to her visit to Tel Aviv, in the aftermath of the 7 October attack by Hamas, alongside giving the Israeli government unqualified support.
