Op 4 maart pers-accreditatie voor de bijeenkomst van defensieministers op 12 en 13 maart 2009

The informal meeting will be held on 12 and 13 March in Prague. EU Defence Ministers will discuss current issues on the European Security and Defence Policy agendas.

In addition to the representatives of all the EU Member States, the informal meeting will be attended by the Secretary General/High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana, the Director for Defence Affairs of the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union, representatives of the European Commission and the Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency. The military bodies of the European Union will be represented by the Chairman of the European Union Military Committee, the Director-General of the European Union Military Staff and the commanders of all the three current military operations of the EU. As the cooperation of the European Union and NATO is an issue discussed and regarded as important by the Czech Presidency, the meeting will be attended by NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.

The main points on the agenda of the informal meeting of Defence Ministers will include EU military operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina (ALTHEA), Chad and the Central African Republic (EUFOR TCHAD/RCA), and the very first EU marine operation, ATALANTA, aiming to combat piracy in the Somali coastal waters, development of the EU military capabilities with emphasis on resolving the availability of helicopter capacities for military operations and on the continued implementation of the projects and programmes initiated by the French Presidency and, last but not least, cooperation of the EU with its strategic partners in the area of security, i.e. NATO, the UN and the African Union.

The event is organised by: the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic. All media representatives who wish to attend must be accredited using the accreditation system at https://events.eu2009.cz/media, by Wednesday 4 March 2009 at the latest. More information in the events calendar.