You would not expect to bump into an on-duty garda walking around Brussels but there is a chance that you might these days.

A small number of gardaí have joined the 250 Irish diplomats and officials assigned to Ireland’s “permanent representation” to the EU in the Belgian capital in preparation for Ireland taking over the rotating presidency of the union next year.

The Government will in July assume the presidency of the council of the EU, for the second half of next year.

The influential role will see Cabinet ministers chair meetings in Brussels and Ireland to broker compromises between ministers from the other 26 states.

As part of the presidency, the State will host an important two-day summit, gathering the 27 EU leaders, who will then be joined by a wider group of 20 other European heads of state and government, including UK prime minister Keir Starmer and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

For months Irish security services have been planning to ensure the presidency passes off safely.

The summit will be a huge logistical and security undertaking to transport, protect and accommodate almost 50 foreign delegations at the same time.

About 5,000 people, including diplomats, government officials and journalists are expected to travel for the summit.

There are only a small number of venues in the State where officials feel such a summit can successfully be pulle