In June 2024, the latest iteration of the Germany-Ireland Joint Plan of Action for Enhanced Bilateral and European Union Cooperation was agreed following consultations between Secretary General of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Joe Hackett, and State Secretary from the German Federal Foreign Office, Thomas Bagger. The plan speaks of the ‘many common values and goals’ shared by the two countries and considers areas for increased cooperation across a range of policy areas. This edition marks the third promulgation of this high-level memorandum between these countries. The Plan of Action was coordinated by the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and the German Federal Foreign Ministry in consultation with relevant Ministries and agencies in both countries.

Across 4000 words, the Joint Action Plan sets out the contours of Irish-German relations and depicts the nature of bilateral relations between the two countries.  The report beings by setting out five principles which define the current state of German-Irish relations, namely: Shaping the future of the EU; Acting like-minded in the world; Strengthening economic ties; Fostering people to people links; and Seizing opportunities.

Following this the report sets out platforms and projects which can allow these principles to be pursued. The plan thus represents an ambitious agenda which reflects some of Ireland and Germany’s shared priorities as EU members, albeit one a small country and one a large one, covering a range of areas of public policy and international relations. This includes: Foreign, EU and security policy cooperation; Climate and energy policy cooperation; Joint engagement on EU policy issues of common interest; and People-to-people, education and research links.

The Plan of Action describes the nature of strategic engagement which already exists between Ireland and Germany across a range of shared priorities. In addition to the updated Plan of Action, an implementation report was published which sets out progress to date based on the two previous iterations of the plan. This includes matters of: foreign policy cooperation; UN Peacekeeping and EU Common Security and Defence (CSDP) cooperation; EU policy cooperation; research cooperation, and more.

German-Irish relations

Relations between Ireland and Germany have traditionally been cordial and strong going back at least to the years preceding German reunification in October 1990. Taoiseach Charles Haughey was president-in-office and Chair of the European Council in the first half of 1990 when preparations for German unity reached their zenith (Delaney, 2014). Addressing the joint Houses of the Oireachtas (the Irish parliament) in 1996 then German chancellor Helmut Kohl said he ‘was forever grateful’ to Charles Haughey and his government for the support offered to Germany in the face of opposition to the terms of reunification, including from Britain and France (Collins, 2017).

German-Irish relations have been strengthened over the years following the UK’s vote to leave the EU in 2016. After the vote, Irish diplomacy went into overdrive to secure new partnerships, across the EU and further afield, and to shore up existing ones. At the same time, Berlin needed to find like-minded partners to safeguard the integrity of the EU-27 following the UK’s departure. Germany was foremost among the EU members in its support for the need to maintain the open status of the Irish border throughout the Brexit negotiations.  At the political level, Germany and Ireland signed the first Joined Plan of Action for Enhanced Bilateral and EU Cooperation in 2018, which was updated in 2021, leading to the latest edition in 2024. A feature of these successive Joint Plans has been an annual high-level conference coordinated by the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) and the German Institute for International and Security Affairs/Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP), which brings together think tankers, diplomats, and thought leaders from the two countries to discuss matters of common interest. Here the many shared interests and priorities of the two countries can be discussed and debated in real time.

Economically, Germany remains Ireland’s third most important trading partner. In 2023, the US was Ireland’s largest export market, amounting to €54 billion and 28% of the total value of Irish exports. The second biggest export partner remained our nearest neighbour, the UK, with €22.4 billion, followed by Germany with €20.4 billion (CSO, 2023). However, while Brexit negotiations are firmly in the rear-view mirror, and despite a reset in relations between the EU and UK following the UK general election in July 2024, trade between Great Britain and Ireland actually dropped by more than €6bn in 2024 as post-Brexit frictions continue to impact trade across the Irish Sea (O’Carroll, 2025). Alongside the potential onset of trade tensions following the re-election of Donald Trump to the White House, intra-EU trade relations will only become more important for EU member states, and both Germany and Ireland should be keenly interested in expanding their bilateral relationships. This underscores the importance of exercises such as the Joint Plan for the citizens of both countries.

An ever-larger union?

One area of central importance in the Joint Plan relates to enlargement and the institutional reforms which may be needed in an expanded EU. How deep and how wide can the EU go and under what circumstances?  What institutional reforms will be required for the EU to incorporate new members?  Where, indeed, does Europe end, and something else begin? Both countries acknowledge that EU member states and institutions must identify the reforms that will be necessary for a larger EU to work effectively and must consider the potential costs that will be associated with further enlargement.

Ireland and Germany are both staunch supporters of EU enlargement, and the Joint Plan of Action correctly speaks of the ‘intertwined processes of enlargement and reform’. Germany seeks to play a leadership role in bringing the countries of the Western Balkans as well as Ukraine, Moldova and potentially (eventually) Georgia closer to the EU and thereby overcoming the security grey zones at the periphery of the EU. The two governments differ, however, regarding the exact details of the reforms that will be needed to get the EU fit for a Union of 30+ members. Germany supports an expansion of qualified majority voting and is one of the leaders behind the ‘group of friends of QMV (qualified majority voting) in Foreign and Security Affairs’. The former German Minister of state for Europe Anna Lührmann mandated a Franco-German expert group together with her then French counterpart Laurence Boone, which proposed a range of reforms to the functioning and structure of the EU Council, the European Parliament and Commission. From the view of the German Government, the processes of enlargement and reform should go hand-in-hand. A dominant view of the Irish Government, on the other hand, is closer to those member states who regard the current Lisbon treaty as being essentially ‘enlargement proof’, meaning that the introduction of new members would inevitably precipitate treaty reform. As a small member state, Ireland tends to be more cautious towards any proposed extension of QMV into areas of core national sovereignty, including when it comes to foreign policy and taxation. What’s more, hanges to the EU treaties that transfer further competences from the members to the EU may be put forward to the Irish people in a referendum, which has the potential to turn into a de facto vote on enlargement, and both countries are keen to test the limits of the current arrangements before determining that treaty reform would be necessary.

As member state, which has been transformed economically and socially by its EU membership, the centre of gravity in Ireland is equally supportive of further EU enlargement, and sensitive to potential reforms that could undermine the standing of the smaller member states, which make up the vast bulk of EU member states. As both Germany and Ireland come at the subject of enlargement from a pro-integration, pro-enlargement perspective, these differences present an opportunity to work together to identify sensible compromises that could be acceptable to a broad range of member states, and to work to find solutions that balance the interests of larger and smaller countries, while maintaining the integrity of the EU itself. This is captured within the margins of the Joint Plan of Action, which sets out many of the shared interests of these two countries, as well as practical steps that be taken to achieve them.

Our shared green future?

A further area of shared priority for both Germany and Ireland set out in the Joint Plan relates to the political anchoring of the EU’s Green Deal. Within the EU, both governments share the interest of building upon the achievements of the Green Deal and in securing it as a main priority for the strategic agenda of the EU2024-29, and in obtaining swift agreement on the legally binding EU 2040 climate targets. Notably, to support the energy transition, Ireland and Germany have recently signed a joint declaration of intent on cooperation in the field of green hydrogen, with the aim of expanding Ireland’s ability to become a large producer of green hydrogen and Germany’s intent to support the production as a large regional energy importer. Internationally, Germany and Ireland also work closely in the global climate negotiations, with recent cooperation focusing particularly on the creation of innovative financial instruments to support the green energy transformation. This is a good example of how the Joint Plan meaningfully captures lofty, sometimes abstract goals – such as support for the EU’s Green Deal –, along with concrete, actionable steps that can be taken to realise these shared aims, - such as the intention to cooperate in the field of green hydrogen.

Foreign Policy

Overall, the latest Joint Plan of Action identifies far more areas of agreement and shared interest between Germany and Ireland, highlighting opportunities for greater person-to-person contact, as well as ways to strengthen economic ties. Meanwhile, the Joint Plan states how Ireland and Germany are both committed to a rules-based international system and strong and effective multilateralism. The plan also makes reference to ‘the guiding principles of the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy of advancement of democracy, the rule of law, the universality and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect for human dignity, the principles of equality and solidarity, and respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law’. Notably, however, one area where Berlin and Dublin have departed relates to foreign policy, and specifically with respect to Israel’s war in Gaza. Ireland is acknowledged as a vocal opponent to how Israel has pursued this war and the disproportionate impact this has had on the people of Gaza, while Berlin provides political and logistical support to Israel. Meanwhile, amid the ongoing security threat posed by Russia, and the reality that the US under President Donald Trump can no longer be regarded as a reliable ally, matters of security and defence, and of the EU’s perspective on conflict in its region, will only become increasingly central to political discourse within the bloc and among its member states. It is likely that matters relating to foreign policy, and EU security and defence policy, may introduce new areas for debate and possible tension in the relations between Dublin and Berlin in the months ahead.  

Conclusion

The Germany-Ireland Joint Plan of Action for Enhanced Bilateral and European Union Cooperation represents a high point of relations between Germany and Ireland. The Plan also presents a template for how relations between member states or groups of member states can be managed in a constructive and accessible way.  Aside from the inevitable impact on German-Irish relations that such an exercise entails, it also presents an excellent opportunity for some of the key issues relating to public policy and international affairs to be ventilated. As such the Joint Plan of Action presents both a useful opportunity for Germany and Ireland to consider areas of shared interest, but also to consider ways that pressing public policy and international affairs can be identified and analysed, and, potentially at least, reimagined.