Extraordinary meeting of NATO Ministers of Defence (REVISED)

GENERAL

1. A meeting of the North Atlantic Council (NAC) at the level of Defence Ministers will take place on Wednesday 16 March 2022. Ministers will meet in person. The meeting will be chaired by the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg.
    
2. Journalists can come to NATO Headquarters to cover the meeting, or follow it remotely. NATO will stream all public components on its website.
    
3. This media advisory marks the opening of online registration for accreditation.

PROGRAMME

4. The Secretary General is expected to do a doorstep ahead of the meeting and brief the media after. A detailed media programme will be available on the NATO website closer to the event.

MEDIA ACCESS

5. Media representatives who wish to cover the meeting need to seek accreditation, except if they have annual accreditation at NATO.
6. Accredited media can cover the doorstep and press conference of the NATO Secretary General, which can also be followed online. Briefings by national officials may be by invitation only.
7. National briefings will also take place at NATO Headquarters. Those may be by invitation only. Please contact national delegations at NATO for details about their plans. A list of press officers at the national delegations is available from the NATO Press Office.

POOLS

8. In addition to the doorsteps and press conferences at the press briefing room, visual journalists can cover the start of each session of the meeting in a pool. A limited number of pool cards will be available and should be requested by email before the start of the ministerial meeting, at NatoMediaOperations[at]hq.nato.int.
9. Pool cards will be distributed on the first floor of the Public Square of NATO HQ. Please check the media programme for the timing. Journalists requesting late accreditation will not be given access to pools.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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

13. NATO will provide broadcast quality video in real time on EBU World feed or to EBU News Exchange.
14. NATO photographers and videographers will provide video clips and photos of all public events during the ministerial meeting.
15. Photos can be downloaded from the NATO website. The video files will be available for free download from the NATO Multimedia Portal.
16. The Secretary General's press conference will be streamed live on the NATO website.

ACCREDITATION AND SECURITY CHECKS

MEDIA ACCREDITATION

17. 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 Sunday 13 March 2022 at 23:59 (CET).
    4. Please apply as early as possible to allow for sufficient time for processing your application for ad-hoc accreditation. This is an extraordinary meeting, and due to time constraints late applications may be rejected.
    5. 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).
    7. In order to comply with COVID-19 safety measures, NATO may need to limit the number of media representatives covering the event in person.
        
18. NATO will also facilitate remote coverage/interaction:
    1. The Secretary General's doorstep, the public opening remarks at the meeting, and the press conference of the Secretary General 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 Wednesday 16 March 2022 at 09:00 (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.

19. Media representatives who have successfully been accredited for in-person attendance will receive confirmation by email. Please bring a printout of the confirmation email when collecting their badge.
20. 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.16f above.
21. Passes must be visible at all times. Security personnel may ask to see another form of ID. Please arrive early to clear security checks. Security personnel will examine and may test equipment and personal effects.
22. 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.

MEDIA FACILITIES

23. A press area with working spaces will be set up on the first floor of the Public Square. 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