The traffic chaos is temporary. What happens this week in Dublin could have lasting impact

It’s easy to forget, in the midst of all the disruption, that today’s meeting of the European Political Community (EPC) at the Convention Centre in Dublin is the largest international meeting ever hosted by an Irish Government.

And yes, it involves disruption, traffic restrictions, travel delays and street closures in the capital city because of the vast and necessary security operation. Some protests seem likely. Going on very recent experience, bomb scares – like the wave of hoax threats made against schools across Europe yesterday – will be on the cards. Public transport will be reduced and many city centre commercial outlets will be closed. Security officials have significantly increased the size of the no-fly zone over Dublin this week. The no-go zone around the Convention Centre doesn’t apply just to cars, but also to bicycles and pedestrians. The only relief is that at least the threatened public sector strike is not now going ahead.

It would be easy to get distracted by all of this kerfuffle and disturbance and focus principally on the many challenges of looking after more than 50 high-level delegations in such circumstances. But too much attention has perhaps been paid to that, and not enough to the fact that today’s meeting is not only of symbolic significance, as what some have called “a talking shop”, but that it is also of substantive importance.

The scale itself is impressive. It will bring together heads of state and governments representing nearly 50 countries, comprising a total population of 730 million people, double the population of the United States. The heads of the main EU institutions as well as of the Council of Europe, the OSCE and Nato will also be here, bringing the number of delegations to well over 50. The majority of delegations are from Europe, but Canada’s Mark Carney, Europe’s newest best friend and ally, will be here. From an Irish point of view, the presence of the UK prime minister Andy Burnham is important given the role of the EPC in bringing the UK gradually back under a shared European umbrella.

The meeting is taking place at a moment of particular significance. On the one hand, the outcome of the midterm elections in the United States means that, at least at Congress level, there is now at last the prospect of gradually closer co-operation and alignment between Europe and the US on trade, artificial intelligence and the rule of law. On the other hand, Vladimir Putin’s Russia, which shows no interest in making the compromises that would be necessary to achieve real peace, has stepped up its daily war crimes against civilian targets in Ukraine, encouraged by US president Donald Trump’s inexplicable determination to sit on the fence. The attendance in Dublin today of Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy will offer a timely opportunity for the EU, as well as Europe more widely, to demonstrate solidarity at this particularly difficult time for Ukraine as winter approaches.

The meeting on Thursday of the wider group of almost 50 countries is a relatively new format – Emmanuel Macron first pitched the idea of the EPC bringing a bigger circle of European leaders together after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 – and managing it is a real test for Ireland and for Taoiseach Micheál Martin, who will be chairing it with the support of the president of the European Council, António Costa.

Organising and shaping the discussions at today’s EPC, involving such a large number of delegations, will demand skill on the Taoiseach’s part. The EPC doesn’t take decisions, something politicians are said to like. So don’t expect the clashes that happen during EU summits in Brussels. Instead, there will be a mixture of plenary sessions, to be addressed by key speakers, and smaller round-table discussions to enable all participants to contribute. Equally crucial, in terms of deepening the complex web of relationships across the countries of Europe, will be various bilateral meetings and informal discussions over lunch and dinner in the National Gallery of Ireland, where there will be music and poetry readings. As Jack Power has written, some of the most useful chats take place in what is informally called the “leaders’ lounge”.

Although there will be no formal conclusions, the delegations should be able to reach broad agreement on the importance of working together on our shared security threats. In addition to sending a vital unanimous message of support to Ukraine in the face of direct military aggression, it is clear that the European Continent more widely faces continuing threats of hybrid warfare, cyberattacks and disinformation targeting our democracies. Ireland is not immune to these threats as discussed in the context of recent experiences of Aer Lingus, Ryanair, SuperValu and many Irish and European schools yesterday.

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Today’s participants will also focus on increasing the competitiveness of our economies. The presence in Dublin today of the most senior political representatives of 14 of the world’s 25 most innovative economies underlines Europe’s potential to work together. Energy issues are an increasingly vital shared interest, and there will be discussion of enlargement.

As part of our presidency of the Council, Ireland will be hosting a smaller informal meeting of the 27 EU Heads of State and Government at the Convention Centre tomorrow, at which the issue of artificial intelligence will be discussed. The generation that achieved Irish independence would be proud of the international role subsequently carved out for us and the way that Ireland, in line with Robert Emmet’s aspirations, has “taken its place amongst the nations of the earth”.

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Contrary to what some commentators suggest, it is clear that Ireland is increasingly comfortable both being part of and, in recent months, leading this evolving Europe. It is a Europe of necessary solidarity in the face of real threats and challenges rather than of the much-discussed and imagined “neoliberal agendas” or “military-industrial complexes”.

The heavy security and disruption will annoy Dubliners and visitors to the capital, and inconvenience businesses, but that should not drown out the reason why major European meetings are taking place in Dublin this week. Their purpose is to protect and promote the security and prosperity of Irish and European citizens. They are a valuable reminder that Europeans are more effective when we work together.

Bobby McDonagh is a former ambassador to London, Brussels and Rome