Dublin 2026

Delegates from 18 member associations from across Europe met 18-19. May, 2026 in Dublin, Ireland for the 42nd annual EUFASA AISBL Conference. EUFASA AISBL was delighted to welcome the Slovak Foreign Affairs Family Association SKFAFA as a new member of EUFASA. Representatives from many European Ministries of Foreign Affairs, the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (NZ MFAT), and the Swedish Association for Diplomats UPF and the Turkish diplomatic spouses association DMEDD also attended, and were joined by new guests from the Ukrainian and Canadian diplomatic families’ associations.

The barriers to employment that diplomatic partners and spouses experience was a primary focus of the Dublin conference. Presentations by the European Labour Authority (ELA) and the European Commission Directorate-General for Employment provided attendees with a picture of current labour mobility within the European Union, efforts to ease access to the labour market for qualified international job seekers, and initiatives to improve coordination of social security systems across Europe – all of which are critical for cross-border European workers.

In addition, results from EUFASA’s 2025 study on stress and mental health were presented, which found that levels of personal burnout in foreign service partners remained surprisingly high in 2025, at the same rate found in 2020 during the corona virus pandemic. A presentation of New Zealand’s measures for families returning from postings abroad underscored the importance of supporting the reintegration of diplomatic families returning to headquarters. The Canadian Diplomatic Family Network (CDFN) presented their progress and achievements, including gaining a robust membership of more than 400 partners and spouses from more than 82 countries since their founding in 2023. Further presentations and exchanges were held on draft legislation to better support Belgian diplomatic families, access to tertiary education for foreign service children, and the work of the Ukrainian Diplomats’ Spousees Association during the war with Russia.