30. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she is aware that the EU Commission has held significant talks with the Council of Europe to bring about the accession of the EU to the ECHR; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38662/26]

As the Deputy will be aware, accession of the EU to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is a long-standing commitment of the Council of Europe and a legal obligation for the EU. The EU Treaties provide that the EU shall accede to the ECHR, but that accession shall not affect the EU’s competences as defined in the Treaties. Negotiations on accession were conducted in a negotiating group of the Contracting Parties to the ECHR and the EU. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade represented Ireland in these negotiations.

Ireland strongly supports the EU’s accession to the ECHR to create a more coherent human rights framework across Europe. This position is rooted in Ireland's long-standing commitment to the ECHR and its belief that the Convention is crucial for protecting fundamental rights.

Negotiations on accession have been characterised by two phases: the first from 2010 to 2013 led to a draft accession agreement which was found by the Court of Justice of the European Union in Opinion 2/13 not to be compatible with the EU Treaties and did not proceed.

Opinion 2/13 identified specific concerns with the draft accession agreement involving:

• EU specific mechanisms of the procedure before the European Court of Human Rights;

• Operation of inter-party applications and of references for an advisory opinion in relation to EU member States;

• The principle of mutual trust between EU member States; and

• EU acts around Common Foreign and Security Policy.

The second phase of negotiations from 2020 to 2023 sought to revise the draft accession agreement considering the Court’s concerns and led to a revised accession agreement.

Negotiations focused on four ‘baskets’ of issues that the Court raised in its Opinion. Issues under Baskets 1, 2 and 3 have been resolved through unanimous provisional agreement. As to Basket 4, which deals with EU acts in Common Foreign and Security Policy, the EU committed to resolving the issue internally.

The process of accession reached an important milestone in March 2023. At the Fourth Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe, the organisation welcomed the unanimous provisional agreement of the revised draft accession instruments, highlighted its importance for strengthening human rights protection in Europe, and called for its timely adoption.

Since Opinion 2/13, EU case law has evolved. In September 2024, the Court of Justice of the EU ruled, in KS and KD v Council, that it can review the legality of acts or omissions under Common Foreign and Security Policy, if they do not involve political or strategic decisions made by the institutions, bodies, offices, and agencies of the EU in the context of Common Foreign and Security Policy.

On 21 November 2025, the Commission asked the Court of Justice of the EU for its Opinion as to whether the revised agreement is compatible with the Treaties (Opinion 1/25). In March 2026, Ireland submitted observations to the Court arguing in favour of the revised agreement’s compatibility with the EU Treaties.

The Opinion of the Court is now awaited, which could take some time. Ireland will continue to seek to advance progress on accession under our upcoming Presidency and are working across government to this end, as we await the Opinion.