Extraordinary meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs (updated)

GENERAL

1. An extraordinary meeting of the North Atlantic Council (NAC) at the level of Ministers of Foreign Affairs will take place at the NATO Headquarters on Friday 04 March. The meeting will be in person and will be chaired by the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg. The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Finland and Sweden, as well as the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign And Security Policy, will take part.
    
2. This media advisory marks the opening of online registration for accreditation.

 MEDIA PROGRAMME (UPDATED)

3. The meeting will start at 10:00 CET on 04 March. There will be public opening remarks covered by a pool of cameramen and photographers (see below for pool access).

4. A family photo will take place at 12:05 CET (see below for pool access).

5. The Secretary General will brief the press at the end of the meeting, around 12:30 CET.

6. Please contact the individual delegations regarding the media engagements of ministers.  A list of delegation press officers is available from the NATO Press & Media Section (MOC@hq.nato.int).

MEDIA ACCESS

7. In order to comply with COVID-19 safety measures, the number of media representatives at NATO HQ may be limited. NATO will facilitate remote coverage and interaction during the Secretary General’s press conferences.
8. Media representatives who wish to cover the event in person at NATO HQ need to seek accreditation, except if they have annual accreditation at NATO. This is an extraordinary meetiing, so last-minute accreditation is not guaranteed.
9. The public opening remarks from the ministerial, the Secretary General’s press conference and other public events during the meeting can also be followed online.
10. Briefings by national officials may be by invitation only. Any national events that are open to all media will be announced on CCTV during the ministerial meeting.

POOLS

11. Visual journalists will have pool access to meeting openings and the official ‘family photo’. A limited number of pool cards will be available and should be requested by email before the start of the ministerial meeting, at NatoMediaOperations@hq.nato.int.
12. If you accept a NATO pool position you must share immediately all information and material collected while in the pool with any accredited media that request it. You will share the material at no charge and with no restriction on the use of the material for news purposes.
13. You can only accept the pool accreditation if you have the agreement of your employer to all of the conditions on providing pool material listed above.
14. Media organisations that want pooled images should first contact the wire service / photo agency of which they are a 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.

BROADCAST

15. NATO will provide broadcast quality video in real time on EBU World feed or to EBU News Exchange.
16. NATO photographers and videographers will provide video clips and photos of all public events during the ministerial meeting. Photos can be downloaded from the NATO website. The video files will be available for free download from the NATO Multimedia Portal.
17. The Secretary General’s press conference will be broadcast live on the internal closed-circuit television system and can be viewed in the press working area as well as on the NATO website. The press conference will also be available via EBU. Audio recordings of the press conference interpreted in English and French, as well as transcripts in English will be made available on the NATO website.

ACCREDITATION AND SECURITY CHECKS

MEDIA ACCREDITATION

18. Attendance in person:
    1. Media representatives who have annual accreditation to NATO for 2022 do not need to apply for separate accreditation for this event.
    2. All other media representatives wishing to cover the meetings in person will need to apply for short-term accreditation. They 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 Thursday 03 March 2022 at 13:00 (Brussels Time).
    4. You are strongly encouraged to apply as early as possible. Given the extraordinary nature of the meeting, late applications from individuals with no recent track record at NATO HQ may be rejected.
    5. NATO will confirm the accreditation explicitly by email. Please bring a printout of the confirmation email when collecting their badge.\
    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).
19. 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. Passes will be issued only after verifying that the applicant meets the COVID-19 conditions listed in p.17f above.
20. Passes must be visible at all times. Security personnel may ask to see another form of ID. You 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.
21. 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.
     
22. NATO will also facilitate remote coverage/interaction:
    1. All public events will be streamed live on the NATO website, and recorded footage will be available 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 conference. Journalists wishing to do so are requested to register by Friday morning  by 9am (CET) via NATO’s accreditation platform: https://my.hq.nato.int. Please find instructions on how to create a profile in Annex 1.
    3. Journalists 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.

MEDIA FACILITIES

23. 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. The permanent media working room is also available on the first floor of the Public Square, facing the Agora.
24. Working spaces cannot be booked in advance and are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
25. Television and radio editing spaces will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, upon request by email to the NATO TV & Radio Unit (see contact details below).
26. 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.

PARKING

27.  Media representatives can 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 can park in a special section of the car park upon request to the NATO TV & Radio Unit.

CONTACT POINTS