Amsterdam police officers equipped with machine guns will patrol former marine headquarters close to the city’s main railway station for the coming six months, the Parool says on Thursday.

The former navy yard will host some 20 top level talks during the Dutch presidency of the European Union which kicks off on January 1. In total, 12 officers will carry the guns and will be backed up by armoured police cars, the Parool says.

Such heavy weaponry on Amsterdam streets has been taboo until now, the paper notes.

The terrorist threat level in the Netherlands remains ‘substantial’ and was not increased in the wake of the Paris attacks.