Chairmanship

VILNIUS, 18 October 2011 – The 18th OSCE Ministerial Council will take place on 6 and 7 December in Vilnius.

The event will be held at the invitation of the 2011 OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Ažubalis.

The Ministerial Council is the central decision-making and governing body of the OSCE. The meeting, held annually, provides the foreign ministers of the 56 OSCE participating States an opportunity to review and assess the Organization's activities during the past year and offer national viewpoints on security matters.

Journalists are invited to cover the event, which will be held in Lithuanian Exhibition and Convention Centre “Litexpo”. Journalists will follow the proceedings of the meeting through closed-circuit television broadcasts at a press centre at Litexpo.

Schedules for press briefings and news conferences during the Council proceedings will be announced later.

Advance accreditation is mandatory. The deadline to apply for accreditation is 25 November.

The media accreditation form and related information are available at: http://www.osce-ministerial2011.mfa.lt

Please note that journalists accredited to OSCE locations still need special accreditation for the Ministerial Council.

Those journalists who are not nationals of an EU Member State should consult the nearest Lithuanian embassy to check if they need an entry visa prior to their arrival in the country.