EU Presidency Finance Conference - ‘Competitiveness in a Changing World’

21 May 2026

Stage view of panel discussion on Macroeconomic and Global Policy Environment, moderated by Jana Randow, Senior European Economics Correspondent for Bloomberg. The panelists are Emma Cunningham, Director General of International and EU Division at the Department of Finance, Ireland, Philip Lane, Member of the Executive Board at the European Central Bank, Brian Hayes, CEO at the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland and Monika Sus, Associate Professor at the Institute of Political Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences.

On 22 April, we welcomed speakers and guests from across the German, Irish and EU financial sectors to our conference on ‘Competitiveness in a Changing World’.

The conference brought together policymakers, regulators and political and industry experts from Dublin, Frankfurt, Brussels and Berlin to explore key economic and financial initiatives that will be progressed during Ireland’s upcoming EU Presidency, which begins on 1 July.

Consul General Anne-Marie Flynn began with an overview of plans for Ireland’s Presidency, before welcoming State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry of Finance Jeanette Schwamberger who presented Germany’s priorities for the European financial agenda for the months ahead.

Jana Randow of Bloomberg News chaired our first panel, where Philip Lane of the European Central Bank and Monika Sus of the Institute of Political Studies, described the macroeconomic and geopolitical context for Ireland’s Presidency. Emma Cunningham of the Department of Finance Ireland set out the many files which Ireland will seek to progress during the six-month term, including the next EU Budget, the Simplification agenda, the Savings and Investment Union and the Digital Euro. Brian Hayes of Banking & Payments Federation Ireland presented the banking sector's priorities.

Moderated by Bloomberg’s Nicholas Comfort, our second panel explored the EU’s ambitious agenda to realise the Savings and Investment Union in Europe. Oliver Gilvarry from Department of Finance Ireland set out Ireland’s plans to steer this work, followed by valuable political, industry and ECB views from Regina Doherty MEP, Francesca McDonagh and Fiona van Echelpoel.

After coffee, guests were treated to a lively discussion on the EU’s simplification agenda. Following an overview of the extensive work underway at the EU level from Andrew Byrne of Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, panelists Sharon Donnery of the ECB, Deutsche Bank’s Stephen Fisher, Dr. Denise Bauer-Weiler of UBS and Michael Peters from Finanzwende shared their views on how work should move forward to support simplification and competitiveness in the European banking sector.

In our final panel, Prof. Dr. Fritzi Koehler-Geib of the Deutsche Bundesbank, Catherine Murray of Department of Finance, Anne Marie McKiernan from the Central Bank of Ireland and AllUnity CEO Alexander Hoeptner discussed the evolution of the digital finance sector in Europe, the important role of the Digital Euro and the growth of stable coins, and the roles of policymakers and central banks in supporting the sector’s stable development. Advancing progress on the Digital Euro file will be a key objective of Ireland’s Presidency.

Our Deputy Ambassador to Germany, James Kilcourse, concluded the day’s proceedings, thanking all of our speakers and partners Center for Financial Studies, IHK Frankfurt am Main and Jacques Delors Centre at the Hertie School for their support.

Photos from the event can be viewed in the gallery below.