Ireland takes over the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union on Wednesday with French and British military assets expected to help protect a six-month programme of high-level meetings, as Dublin prepares for what security officials describe as an unusually demanding operation.
Issued on: 01/07/2026 - 08:09
4 min Reading time
A French air defence warship carried out manoeuvres with Irish naval vessels off Dublin Bay at the weekend as Ireland stepped up defence preparations for the presidency, which runs from 1 July until the end of the year. The French multipurpose frigate – equipped with advanced air defence radar and up to 32 anti-aircraft missiles – was reportedly operating in the Irish Sea some 14 nautical miles east of North Dublin on Sunday, while two Irish Naval Service vessels conducted manoeuvres nearby. The ships had their transponders turned off, meaning they were not visible on open-source ship tracking platforms, but they could be seen by passengers on civilian aircraft landing at Dublin Airport. The operation, which was not announced publicly by the Irish government, is intended to prepare for the country hosting dozens of high-level meetings, some of which will require air defence systems that the Defence Forces do not possess.
