Brussels, 18/07/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 18 July, the International Press Association (IPA) made an official complaint to the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the EU regarding the accreditation procedures imposed on journalists wishing to cover the informal ministerial meetings it holds in Bratislava.
On the basis of several complaints, including those of Agence Europe (EUROPE 11591), IPA criticises the fact that late accreditation for an event is impossible due to the obligation imposed on journalists already accredited with the EU to submit accreditation applications at least three weeks in advance in order to give the security services enough time to carry out their checks. The time taken to process an accreditation request also depends on a number of countries in which the journalist has lived and the number of jobs that person has held.
“Late accreditation is essential for journalists, who cannot always plan their activities weeks in advance. This is not acceptable to us”, the President of IPA, Tom Weingärtner, states in a press release. He goes on to stress: “last week, some journalists were even denied access to the media centre in Bratislava, where they had travelled to on a very short notice. This has never happened before”.
According to media representatives in Brussels, the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the EU does not intend to change the procedure in place. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)