Limited re-opening of the Council Press Centre

Met dank overgenomen van Raad van de Europese Unie (Raad) i, gepubliceerd op dinsdag 26 oktober 2021.

Starting from 3 November 2021 the Council Press Centre will be open every day, and not only during Council and European Council meetings.

Current Situation

In line with the COVID-19 restrictions, the Council Press Centre has been closed since the start of the pandemic in Belgium. Starting June 2021, it has partially reopened allowing a limited number of journalists to access our premises (in Brussels and Luxembourg), only during Council meetings and with a registration process.

Future Arrangements

Journalists with a press badge can enter the premises to work in the Press Centre and/or attend a press conference or a press briefing, on a first-come, first-served basis, until maximum capacity is reached (70). There will be no need to register in advance. The opening times will be from 8:00 to 17:00, which will be extended in the event of late hours Council meetings. Nevertheless it will still be possible to participate remotely to press conferences and briefings.

Sanitary Measures

The sanitary rules in particular concerning social distancing and wearing masks will have to be respected in the working area and in the press conference rooms. The cleaning service will provide thorough and daily disinfection of the press room and its installations. Journalists are advised to use their own headphones if they need interpretation service in the press room.