Informal meeting of EU defence ministers
An informal meeting of EU defence ministers will be held within the Croatian Presidency of the Council of the EU in Zagreb from 4 – 5 March 2020.
The meeting will be hosted by the Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Damir Krstičević, and chaired by the High EU Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission Josep Borrell.
Formal dinner will be held in the National and University Library in Zagreb on 4 March at 19.00.
Media representatives will have the opportunity to cover the arrival of the senior officials in front of the National and University Library by 17.30 and the opportunity for doorstep statements. To do so they are advised to arrive to the National and University Library by 16.40 to clear the mandatory security check.
Furthermore, the signing ceremony for the Memorandum of Understanding on Cyber Rapid Response Teams (CRRTs) and Mutual Assistance in Cyber Security will take place in the National and University Library at 21:05. The Memorandum will be signed by the Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Damir Krstičević, by the Defence Minister of the Republic of Lithuania Raimundas Karoblis, by the Defence Minister of Estonia Jüri Luik, by the Defence Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Ank Bijleveld-Schouten, by the Minister of Defence of Poland Mariusz Błaszczak and by the Minister of Romania Nicolae Ionel Ciucă.
The signing of the Memorandum will be followed by brief statements of the ministers for the media. Media representatives who want to cover the statements are advised to arrive at the National and University Library by 20.30 at the latest.
Working sessions of the EU defence ministers, discussing the defence-related priorities, will take place in the Westin Hotel in Zagreb, Ulica Izidora Kršnjavog 1 from 8.30 am . The meeting will be chaired by the Vice-President of the Josep Borrell.
Photographers and cameramen will have the opportunity to cover the beginning of the working session at 8.30.
The accredited photographers and cameramen who wish to do so are invited to arrive to the Westin Hotel by 7.45 at the latest, for a mandatory security check
Following the working sessions the Croatian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Damir Krstičević and the High EU Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell will give brief statements for the media.
The accredited media representatives who wish to cover the media statements to arrive to the Westin Hotel by 11.30, to clear the mandatory security check.
The accredited media representatives will also have an opportunity to cover the signing of the Memorandum between the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Croatia and the Ministry of Defence of Hungary on the establishment of a Multinational Divisional Command for Central Europe, which will also take place in the Westin Hotel at 12:45.
Remark: The coverage of the enumerated media activities within the informal EU defence minister smeeting will be allowed for the media representatives accredited via link.