25/01/2019 (Agence Europe) – The International Press Association (IPA) called, in a statement published on 24 January, on foreign correspondents accredited in Belgium who have received a letter from the Belgian authorities - among whom is a member of EUROPE - not to pay the 50 euros claimed from them as a "security fee". The IPA is therefore strongly opposed to the possibility that foreign journalists attending the October 2018 EU summit in Brussels may be forced to pay to cover the costs of the security checks they have undergone. It considers that this unilateral decision "conflicts with previous commitments by the Belgian government to exempt foreign journalists from such a 'security fee'" (see EUROPE 12106). The IPA promises to make representations to the Belgian government. (DG - intern)