NATO Defence Ministers meeting in Brussels

Defence Ministers meetings

 

Brussels, 15-16 february 2017

GENERAL

1.    Meetings of the North Atlantic Council (NAC) at the level of Defence Ministers will be held at NATO Headquarters on Wednesday 15 and Thursday 16 February 2017. All information about these meetings will be made available via the NATO website. This media advisory marks the opening of the online accreditation website (see below).
 

2.    The meetings will be chaired by the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg.
 

PROGRAMME AND POOLS

3.    The definitive programme will be handed to media representatives upon accreditation. It will include restricted access by selected visual media to the opening of Council meetings and the official portrait, unrestricted access to press conferences and information about the retransmission of media events to the press working area and TV/Radio booths. Information about individual ministers’ media programmes should be sought directly from the national Delegation(s) concerned. A list of NATO Delegation press officers is available from the Press & Media Section and upon accreditation.
 

4.    Press conferences are in principle media events open to all accredited media. The opening remarks of the various NATO meetings as well as the Secretary General’s press conference(s) will be broadcast live on the internal closed-circuit television system and can be viewed in the press working area as well as online. Audiovisual media representatives who wish to cover the opening remarks from inside the Council room may make a written request for a pool card to the e-mail address given at the end of this advisory. No confirmation will be sent. Pool cards for restricted-access events will be given to a small number of videographers and photographers drawn from among those who submit an accreditation request on time; these will be distributed at the Press Office Front desk from 11:00 a.m. on 15 February 2017 and from 07:30 a.m. on 16 February 2017.
 

5.    When a media representative accepts a NATO pool position it is with the strict understanding, in accordance with international practice, that the act of accepting the accreditation to be in a NATO pool implies explicit and unconditional agreement by that media representative that he/she will share immediately and upon request with other media accredited to the NATO event all information collected, and/or all material produced, while in that pool. It also implies explicit agreement that the media representative will share the material with no impediment from their own news organization, at no charge to other journalists and with no restriction on the use of the material for legitimate news purposes.
 

6.    Media representatives can only accept the pool accreditation if they have the explicit backing of their employer to all of the conditions on providing pool material as the basis of accepting the pool position.
 

7.    In turn, media organisations seeking pool photo materials should first contact the Wire service photo agency of which they are a member or client. Media representatives and the news organizations that employ them who accept any material from a pool accept it with the explicit and strict understanding that it must be identified as pool material any time it is used, that it can be used only for legitimate news purposes and that the receiving party has no right to sell pool material or otherwise profit from it.
 

8.    The NATO photographers and videographers will provide video clips and photos of all the media events for posting to the NATO website; photos can be downloaded from www.nato.int and the B-roll and press conference videos can be downloaded live via satellite or from the NATO TV & Radio Unit (see the contact details below). After each event, the videos are available for free download from NATOChannel.
 

ACCREDITATION AND SECURITY CHECKS

9.    Journalists in possession of a valid 2017 NATO permanent media pass do not need to request accreditation.
 

10. Media representatives not in possession of a valid 2017 NATO permanent media pass who wish to cover the meeting must apply for accreditation. Applications for accreditation can only be made online via internet, by clicking on the following link: https://my.hq.nato.int/.
 

11. Applications for accreditation must be submitted online no later than Tuesday 07 February 2017 at 18h00 (Brussels Time). Requests received after that date are likely to be delayed or refused. Media representatives who have submitted the request for accreditation via the internet are encouraged to bring a print-out of the request confirmation. Late applications will not be taken into consideration for pool access.
 

12. The usual NATO accreditation procedures shall be applicable to this meeting. The accreditation process requires media representatives using the system for the first time to create a user name and password and to provide a digital picture (3.5 x 4.5 cm passport-type photograph in JPEG format). Media representatives who reside in Belgium are also invited to enter their Belgian press card number and issuing authority (Belgian Interior Ministry or Ministry of Foreign Affairs) into the online interface of the accreditation request.
 

13. Media passes will not be mailed to applicants; they must be collected in person at the Media Accreditation Office upon presentation of an ID card or passport and a valid national press pass (or accreditation letter from a recognized media organization). Media representatives will be given their accreditation at the main entrance of NATO Headquarters (Group entrance). Passes must be worn visibly at all times, and security personnel may ask to see another form of ID at any time. Media representatives are informed that security personnel will examine and may test equipment and personal effects carried onto the site and are advised to arrive with sufficient lead time to clear security checks.
 

MEDIA FACILITIES

14. Twelve TV booths and eight radio booths (each with an ISDN line, internet access and a telephone) will be made available. They will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, upon request by email to the NATO TV & Radio Unit (see contact details below).
 

15. Journalists, wire services and photo agencies using bulky equipment are urged to bring it to the Media Centre as of Tuesday 14 February at 15h00.
 

16. NATO also makes available one TV and one radio studio when they are not in use by senior NATO officials. These facilities are usually booked via delegations press officers wishing to accept interview requests from media organisations.
 

17. A temporary press area with 170 working spaces will be set up in front of the Luns Conference Room. Electricity plugs, Wi-Fi internet, 74 LAN internet access and 54 telephones will be available. In addition, a separate space with 15 working spaces dedicated to radio (15 ISDN Lines) will be made available and clearly identified.
 

18. The permanent “Carrington” press area will also be available (50 working spaces with electricity plugs, Wi-Fi internet, 25 LAN internet access and 42 telephones).
 

19. Please note that working spaces mentioned at paragraph 17 and 18 cannot be booked in advance but media can use it on a first-come, first-served basis.

 

OPENING HOURS

PARKING

20. Media representatives are informed that they will not be allowed to park their vehicles inside the NATO compound. They may, however, park in the west car park outside the main entrance. Uplink vans may park in a special section of the east car park, or on car park H, upon request to the NATO TV & Radio Unit.

CONTACT POINTS