Meeting of NATO Ministers of Defence

GENERAL

1. Meetings of the North Atlantic Council (NAC) at the level of Defence Ministers will be held at the NATO Headquarters on Thursday 21 and Friday 22 October 2021. The meetings will be in person and will be chaired by the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg.
2. This media advisory marks the opening of online registration for accreditation (see below).

PROGRAMME

3. The meetings will start on Thursday 21 October 2021 in the afternoon and will end on Friday 22 October. A full media programme will be available online closer to the event.
4. The Secretary General's pre-ministerial press conference will take place on Wednesday 20 October 2021; he is expected to hold press conferences on each day of the Ministerial meetings. A detailed programme will be released at a later date.
5. Information about individual ministers' media programmes should be sought directly from their national delegation(s). A list of NATO delegation press officers is available from the Press & Media Section (MOC@hq.nato.int).

MEDIA ACCESS

6. In order to comply with COVID-19 safety measures, a limited number of media representatives will be allowed to cover the event in person. NATO will also facilitate remote coverage and interaction during the Secretary General's press conferences.
7. Media representatives who wish to cover the event need to seek accreditation, even if they have annual accreditation at NATO (detailed procedure outlined below).
8. All accredited media can cover the press conferences of the NATO Secretary General, which can also be followed online. Briefings by national delegation officials may be by invitation only. Open delegation events are announced on CCTV during the ministerial meeting.

POOLS

9. Access to meeting openings and the official portrait is by pool. Pool cards will be given to a small number of videographers and photographers. The pool cards will be distributed on the first floor of the Public Square of NATO HQ. More details about timings will be provided in the media programme. Journalists requesting late accreditation will not be given access to pools.
10. 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.
11. When a media representative accepts a NATO pool position he/she must share immediately all information and material collected while in the pool with any accredited media that request it. The media representative in the pool will share the material at no charge and with no restriction on the use of the material for news purposes.
12. Media representatives can only accept the pool accreditation if they have the agreement of their employer to all of the conditions on providing pool material listed above.
13. Media organisations that want pooled images should first contact the wire service / photo agency of which they are a member / client. Media representatives and news organisations must identify that it is pooled material every time it is used. Pooled material can only be used for legitimate news purposes and it cannot be sold.
14. 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

15. The opening remarks of the NAC 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, on the NATO website (www.nato.int).
16. 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 NATO Multimedia.

ACCREDITATION AND SECURITY CHECKS

MEDIA ACCREDITATION

17. Attendance in person:
    1. In order to comply with COVID-19 safety measures, NATO will allow a limited number of media representatives to cover the event in person.
    2. All media representatives wishing to cover the meetings in person (including those with an annual accreditation with NATO) will need to register via NATO's media accreditation platform: https://my.hq.nato.int. Please find instructions on how to log in or create a new profile in Annex 1.
    3. The deadline to register and apply for media accreditation for attendance in person is no later than Wednesday 13 October 2021 at 23:59 (Brussels Time).
    4. Media representatives are strongly encouraged to apply as soon as possible to allow for sufficient time for processing their requests. For security and COVID-19 reasons, late applications may be rejected.
    5. NATO strongly recommends media organisations to plan for a minimal physical presence. It is unlikely that all accreditation requests will be accepted. NATO will confirm the accreditation explicitly by email.
    6. Physical access to NATO HQ will be granted only if one of the conditions below is met (as also outlined here):
       • Possess a vaccination certificate proving that they are fully vaccinated since 14 days before entering NATO HQ premises; 
       • Bring a certificate stating post-COVID recovery (not more than 180 days);
       • Present a valid PCR test (done within 72 hours).
18. NATO will also facilitate remote coverage/interaction:

• 1. All public events will be streamed live, and footage will be available live via satellite and recorded via the NATO Multimedia portal.
  2. NATO is offering journalists the option to ask questions remotely via Zoom to the NATO Secretary General during his press conferences. Journalists wishing to do so are requested to register by no later Wednesday 13 October 2021 at 23:59 (Brussels Time) via NATO's accreditation platform: https://my.hq.nato.int. Please find instructions on how to create a profile in Annex 1.
  3. Media representatives registered for remote engagement will be contacted separately for technical details. While every effort will be made to accommodate as many questions as possible, time limitations might not allow all questions to be asked.

19. Media representatives who have successfully been accredited will receive confirmation by email. Media representatives are encouraged to bring a printout of the confirmation email when collecting their badge.
20. Requests entered after the deadline are considered late, and may be unsuccessful. In accordance with NATO media accreditation procedures, NATO reserves the right to deny or withdraw accreditation of media representatives from media organisations who abuse their privileges, put the accreditation to improper use or act in a way not consistent with the principles of the organisation. Late applications will not be taken into consideration for pool access.
21. Media passes must be collected in person upon presentation of an ID card or passport and a valid national press pass (or accreditation letter from a recognised media organisation) at the Main Entrance, NATO Headquarters, Boulevard Leopold III 1110.
22. Passes must be visible at all times. Security personnel may ask to see another form of ID. Media representatives are advised to arrive with sufficient lead time to clear security checks. Security personnel will examine and may test equipment and personal effects carried onto the site.

MEDIA FACILITIES

23. Television and Radio editing spaces will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, upon request by email to the NATO TV & Radio Unit (see contact details below).
24. 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.
25. A press area with working spaces will be set up on the first floor of the public square area. Electricity sockets, Wi-Fi internet, and telephones will be available. In addition, the permanent filing centre is also available on the first floor of the Public Square, facing the Agora.
26. Working spaces cannot be booked in advance but are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

OPENING HOURS

PARKING

27.  Media representatives will not be allowed to park their vehicles inside the NATO compound. They may park in the Visitors' 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

Overall Coordination & pool cards
Ms Irina Novakova
Telephone: +32 (0)2 707 1003
natomediaoperations@hq.nato.int

Accreditation
Mr Angelo Pacifico
Telephone: +32 (0)2 707 83 46
NatoAccreditations@hq.nato.int

TV & Radio arrangements on site and via satellite
Mr Serge Bosmans
Telephone: +32 (0)2 707 50 03
Bosmans.Serge@hq.nato.int

Mr Eric Morel
Telephone: +32 (0)2 707 12 87
Morel.Eric@hq.nato.int

NATO  Video on demand
Telephone: +32 (0)2 707 12 27
content@natomultimedia.tv