2026 Year Look Ahead: Key Dates & Elections

Key Dates:

In the United States…

• February 4: DoS Inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial Summit
• February 24: State of the Union address by President Trump
• February 26: GLOBSEC DC Forum
• June 11-July 19: 23^rd FIFA World Cup in the US, Mexico, and Canada
• July 1^st: USMCA Official Joint Review Meeting of the Trilateral Free Trade Commission
• July 4: 250^th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence

In Latin America and the Caribbean…

• January 1: Paraguay assumes the MERCOSUR Presidency.
• January 1: Kitts and Nevis assumes the CARICOM Presidency.
• January 17: Formal Signing of the EU-MERCOSUR Deal, Paraguay
• February 24-27: CARICOM 50^th Regular Meeting of Heads of Government, Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis.
• July 1: Uruguay assumes the MERCOSUR Presidency.
• November 4-5: 30^th Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, Madrid, Spain.
• TBD: 10^th Summit of the Americas in the Dominican Republic

In Europe…

• January 1: Start of Cyprus’s Presidency of the EU Council
• January 1: Bulgaria adopts the euro and becomes the 21st member state of the eurozone

• January 17: Signing of the EU-Mercosur trade agreement
• January 19-23: World Economic forum Annual Meeting in Davos
• January 20: Suspension of the ratification process of the trade agreement between the EU and the US
• January 21: European Parliament calls for the EU‑Mercosur trade agreement to be reviewed by the Court of Justice of the EU
• January 27: Signing of the EU- India Free Trade Agreement
• February 13-15: Munich Security Conference
• February 25: Presentation of the Industrial Accelerator Act by the European Commission
• April 22-24: 18th European Economic Congress, Katowice
• May 4: 8th European Political Community Summit, Yerevan
• June 23: 10th anniversary of the Brexit referendum
• July 1: Start of Ireland’s Presidency of the EU Council
• Early September: State of the European Union address (SOTEU), Ursula von der Leyen

In France…

• January 1: French presidency of the G7
• January 14: Prime Minister François Bayrou’s general policy speech to the Parliament
• February 2: 100th anniversary of the birth of Valéry Giscard D’Estaing.
• February 12: End of the appeal trial on the far-right Rassemblement National’s European parliamentary assistants affair
• February 15: Departure of French astronaut Sophie Adenot for the International Space Station
• March 15-22: First and second rounds of municipal elections
• April 7: One Health Summit in Lyon
• May 11-12: Africa Forward Franco-African Summit in Nairobi

• June 1st: Choose France Summit in Versailles
• June 3: End of Nicolas Sarkozy’s appeal trial
• June 15-17: 52^nd G7 Summit in Evian, France
• September 27: Senatorial elections (renewal of half of the 348 seats)
• October 11: Potential left-wing primaries in view of the 2027 presidential election
• Fall: Opening of campaign accounts for the 2027 presidential election
• Fall: ​​Review of the 2027 budget and the social security budget (PLFSS) for 2027
• December 31: Emmanuel Macron’s last New Year’s address as President of the Republic

Internationally…

• January 1: India assumes the BRICS Presidency
• January 1: Turkmenistan assumes the Presidency of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
• January 1: Kazakhstan assumes the Presidency of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU)
• January 19-23: 56^th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, Davos, Switzerland
• February 11-12: 48 Ordinary Session of the Executive Council African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
• April 13-18: IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, DC
• May 21-23: 2026 GLOBSEC Forum in Prague
• May 26-29: UArctic Congress 2026 and 30^th Anniversary of the Arctic Council in the Faroe Islands
• May 28-29: Summit of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council (EAEU) in Astana, Kazakhstan
• July 7-8: 2026 NATO Summit in Ankara, Türkiye
• July 9-10: Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) in Poland
• July TBD: 18^th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, India
• September 8: 81^st Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York
• October 9: CIS Leaders Summit in Turkmenistan
• October 12-18: IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Thailand
• November 10-21: COP 31 in Antalya, Türkiye
• December 14-15: G20 Leaders’ Summit in Miami, Florida

Key Elections:

In the United States…

November 3: U.S. Federal Elections (House of Representatives, one-third of the Senate, and 36 governorships)

In the Americas and the Caribbean…

• February 1: General Elections in Costa Rica
• February 11: General Elections in Barbados
• March 8: Legislative elections in Colombia
• April 5: Runoff election in Costa Rica (if needed)
• April 12: General election in Peru
• May 31: First round of the presidential election in Colombia
• June 7: Runoff election in Peru (if needed)
• June 21: Runoff election in Colombia (if needed)
• August 30: First round of the General elections in Haiti
• September TBC: General Elections in The Bahamas
• October 4: General Elections in Brazil
• December 6: Second round of the General Elections in Haiti

In Europe…

• January 18: Presidential Elections in Portugal
• March 22: Parliamentary election in Slovenia
• April 12: Parliamentary election in Hungary
• May 24: Legislative (House of Representatives) election in Cyprus
• August TBC: Presidential election in Estonia
• September 13: General elections in Sweden
• October 3: Parliamentary elections in Latvia
• October 31: General elections in Denmark
• November TBC: Presidential Election in Bulgaria

Internationally…

• January 15: General elections in Uganda
• February 12: General Elections in Bangladesh
• February 22: Parliamentary Election in Laos
• March 5: Parliamentary Election in Nepal
• March 22: Presidential Elections in the Republic of the Congo
• May 3: Parliamentary Election in Lebanon
• June 1: General Elections in Ethiopia
• August 13: General Elections in Zambia
• September TBD: Parliamentary Election in Morocco
• October 27: Parliamentary Election in Israel
• December 5: Presidential Elections in Gambia