HELSINKI, 15 October 2008 - The 16th OSCE Ministerial Council will take place on 4 and 5 December in Helsinki.

The event will be held at the invitation of the 2008 Chairman-in-Office, Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb.

The Ministerial Council is the central decision-making and governing body of the OSCE. The meeting, held annually, provides the foreign ministers of the 56 OSCE participating States an opportunity to review and assess the Organization's activities during the past year and offer national viewpoints on security matters.

Journalists are invited to cover the event, which will be held in Helsinki's Fair Centre, Messuaukio 1. Journalists will follow the proceedings of the meeting through closed-circuit television broadcasts at a press centre in the Fair Centre, entrance at Ratapihantie.

A press briefing will be held in the afternoon of 3 December in the Fair Centre's press centre. Times for press briefings and news conferences during the Council proceedings will be announced later.

Advance accreditation is mandatory. The deadline to apply for accreditation is 17 November for journalists who want the organizers to book hotels and 24 November for journalists arranging their own accommodation.

The media accreditation form and related information are available on the media info section of the conference website: http://www.osce.org/conferences/mc_2008.html

Please note that journalists accredited to the OSCE in Vienna or in any other OSCE locations still need special accreditation for the Ministerial Council.

An OSCE Civil Society Forum will be held 2 and 3 December in the Ostrobotnia building, Museokatu 10, Helsinki. The Forum, organized by the Finnish Committee for European Security (STETE) and its non-governmental organization partners, will be open to the media. For more information, please see www.stete.org

Journalists should consult the nearest Finnish Embassy to check if they need an entry visa prior to their arrival in the country.