Defence Ministers meetings

GENERAL

1. Meetings of the North Atlantic Council (NAC) at the level of Defence Ministers will be held at the NATO Headquarters on Wednesday 13 and Thursday 14 February 2019. All information about these meetings will be made available via the NATO website. This media advisory marks the opening of the online registration for accreditation (see below).
2. The meetings will be chaired by the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg.

PROGRAMME

3. The media programme will be online closer to the events and provided to media representatives in the media centre. The meetings will likely start on Wednesday 13 February 2019 in the afternoon. Pre-ministerial events (e.g. Secretary General’s pre-ministerial press conference) will likely take place on Tuesday 12 February 2019; more details will be announced at a later date.
4. The Accreditation Office will be located at the Main Entrance, NATO Headquarters, Boulevard Leopold III 1110.
5. 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.

MEDIA ACCESS TO MEDIA EVENTS

6. Access to meeting openings and the official portrait is restricted by pool only. Access is unrestricted to press conferences of the NATO Secretary General. Briefings by delegation officials may be by invitation only. Open delegation events are announced on CCTV.

POOLS AT NATO HEADQUARTERS

7. 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 on the first floor of the Public Square of NATO HQ. More details about timings will be provided in the media program.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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.

ONLINE / BROADCAST

13. The opening remarks of several 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.
14. 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

15. Journalists in possession of a valid NATO permanent media pass do not need to request accreditation.
16. Journalists not in possession of a valid NATO permanent pass need to request ad-hoc accreditation here: https://my.hq.nato.int/. Please find instructions on how to create a profile in Annex 1. Confirmations will not be sent.
17. Deadline for ad-hoc accreditation requests is no later than Tuesday 05 February 2019 at 23:59 (Brussels Time). After that, requests are considered late; they will be delayed and may be 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.
18. The usual NATO accreditation procedures shall be applicable media wishing to cover the ministerial and pre-ministerial events (including those likely to be scheduled on Tuesday 12 February 2019). They are detailed here: https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/news_83620.htm.
19. Media passes will not be mailed to applicants; they must be collected in person upon presentation of an ID card or passport and a valid national press pass (or accreditation letter from a recognized media organization).
20. 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

21. Television and Radio editing space 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).
22. Journalists, wire services and photo agencies using bulky equipment are urged to bring it to the Media Centre as of Tuesday 12 February 15:00.
23. 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.
24. A press area with working spaces for journalists will be set up on the first floor of the public square area. Electricity plugs, Wi-Fi internet, and telephones will be available. In addition, a permanent filing centre is also available on the first floor of the Public Square facing the Agora.
25. Please note that working spaces mentioned above cannot be booked in advance but media can use it on a first-come, first-served basis.

OPENING HOURS (TBC)

PARKING

26. Media representatives are informed that they will not be allowed to park their vehicles inside the NATO compound. They may, however, park in the visitor’s car park of the NATO HQ, or in the car park directly across the main entrance, at the Z entrance parking of the former NATO HQ. Uplink vans may park in a special section of the car park upon request to the NATO TV & Radio Unit.

CONTACT POINTS