OSCE Ministerial Council to tackle current security issues in Vienna on Thursday 7 and Friday 8 December 2017
Vienna, 5 December 2017 – The 24th OSCE Ministerial Council, bringing together some 45 Foreign Ministers from across the OSCE region, will take place in Vienna, Austria on 7 and 8 December 2017, at the invitation of the 2017 OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Austria’s Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz.
The Ministerial Council is the culmination of Austria’s 2017 OSCE Chairmanship, which placed particular emphasis on defusing conflicts, re-establishing trust and fighting radicalisation and violent extremism through renewed co-operation and concrete approaches.
OSCE Foreign Ministers will focus on efforts to settle existing conflicts in the OSCE area, in particular regarding the crisis in and around Ukraine, strengthening the OSCE’s capacities to foster result-oriented co-operation, reviving strategic dialogue on regional security policy issues as well as empowering the OSCE to effectively address new global challenges. The Council will also set the course for the future work of the OSCE with Italy taking over the Chairmanship from 1 January 2018.
Media opportunities
In addition to the Ministerial Council plenary meeting, a number of events will provide media opportunities, starting on Wednesday 6 December.
All media representatives accredited to the MC are invited to attend the closing session of OSCE Parallel Civil Society Conference 2017 organized by the “Civil Solidarity Platform” on Wednesday, 6 December 2017 at 16:00, at the Hotel Le Méridien, Robert-Stolz-Platz 1, 1010 Vienna. Civil Society Recommendations will be handed over to the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office (photo opportunity and short statement by Kurz at approx. 17:00). No additional press registration is required for the event.
On Thursday, 7 December, Kurz will be available for a press doorstep before the start of the Ministerial Council at 08:25, at the main entrance of the Hofburg Congress Centre. A press-pool will leave the Media Centre at 8:15 to attend the doorstep, handshake, family photo and opening.
On the concluding day of the Ministerial Council – Friday, 8 December – Chairperson-in-Office Kurz and OSCE Secretary General Greminger will hold a joint press conference, following the official closing of the Ministerial Council (approx. 13:30).
Information on additional pooled photo opportunities that will be provided to photographers and press (no TV cameras) during the course of Thursday (7 December) and Friday (8 December) can be obtained at the media information desk in the MC media centre. Please note that for all pooled photo opportunities, prior registration should be made at the Press Centre media desk.
Beyond the Ministerial Council – Thematic Side Events
Several events focusing on OSCE-related projects and topics will be open to all MC accredited media representatives. These side events will provide a forum for dialogue between civil society, youth, academia, the media and MC delegations. Specific information will be made available in the Media Centre and displayed on the CCTV screens.
Practical Information
The opening hours of the Media Centre are:
From 12:00 until 22:00 on Wednesday, 6 December
From 07:00 until 22:00 on Thursday, 7 December
From 07:00 until approximately 17:00 on Friday, 8 December
The opening hours of the Media Information Desk, located in the media centre, are:
From 12:00 until 17:00, Wednesday, 6 December
From 08:00 until 20:00, Thursday, 7 December
From 08:00 until approx. 17:00 on Friday, 8 December
You can follow the Ministerial Council on Twitter via #OSCEMC17, #osce17AUT, @OSCE, @AUT_OSCE.
For more information go to: www.osce.org/oscemc17 or www.bmeia.gv.at/oscemc2017
For briefings and individual interviews, as well as any information on the distribution of press releases, declarations, speeches and other documents, media representatives can e-mail to press@osce.org, media@mc2017.at or call +43 676 7174592.
MC Plenary sessions, as well as the closing press conference on 8 December will be streamed online at www.osce.org/live .
Photographs by the host photographer for use by the media and delegations can be downloaded from http://bit.ly/OSCEMC17photos as well as from www.flickr.com/photos/minoritenplatz8/.
Video clips will be available via http://medien.mc2017.at