Related items

On Tuesday 27 January, AmCham EU met with Aingeal O’Donoghue, Irish Ambassador to the EU to exchange views on Ireland’s Presidency priorities. Discussions focused on how the upcoming Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU can support a more competitive, resilient and sustainable Europe, with a particular focus on trade, security and investment. AmCham EU shared its perspectives on strengthening Europe’s global economic position and how to ensure that EU policymaking supports long-term growth. The exchange reinforced the importance of close engagement between policymakers and the business community as preparations continue for Ireland’s Presidency in July. 

Cisco is strengthening France’s role in the global digital economy with the launch of its Global AI Hub, announced at the 2025 Choose France Summit. The hub will focus on secure, energy-efficient artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, innovative cooling solutions for data centres and support for the startup ecosystem. To address future workforce needs, Cisco will also train 230,000 people in France over the next three years through its Networking Academy, covering fields such as cybersecurity, data science and AI. Building on nearly 400,000 individuals already trained in France, this investment supports Cisco’s EU-wide commitment to train 1.5 million people by 2030. Read more on Invested in Europe. 

On Tuesday, 27 January, AmCham EU was joined by senior journalists from Bloomberg, EURACTIV, the Financial Times, and POLITICO to explore the issues set to dominate the headlines in 2026. The reporters first took stock of what has happened in the past weeks – a year already marked by instability, policy uncertainty and a deteriorating transatlantic relationship, before turning to the consequences of these shifts. Afterwards they examined deepening geopolitical fragmentation and the realignment of global trade, and how these trends are reshaping competitiveness and policy priorities. 

The panel included Henry Foy, Brussels Bureau Chief, Financial Times; Matthew Karnitschnig, Editor-in-Chief, EURACTIV; Suzanne Lynch, Brussels Bureau Chief, Bloomberg and Joanna Roberts, Senior EU Policy Editor, POLITICO. The discussion was moderated by Thibaut L'Ortye, Senior Director of Public Affairs, AmCham EU.