Media Accreditation
Prior online accreditation with the Federal Press Service is required to attend all events in Austria organised by the Austrian Presidency that require accreditation, and, in particular, for informal ministerial meetings, meetings with EU institutions and meetings with third countries.
Online media accreditation can be carried out under this link.
If you have already been accredited for an event organised by the Austrian Federal Government or the Office of the Austrian Federal President, or if you are a foreign correspondent accredited in Austria, then we already have your details stored in our online accreditation system. In this case, you do not need to reapply for accreditation. All that you have to do is specify the event you want to attend in our meetings calendar.
The accreditation badge is valid for the entire duration of the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The accreditation badge gives you access to the media centre concerned and to media events.
For first-time accreditation, you are requested to register and enter your personal data. You are also required to attach a recent digital colour photograph and enter the data from your press card. Instead of your press card you may also attach a letter from your media organisation confirming your personal assignment for media coverage of the Austrian Presidency (letter of assignment). These attachments must be sent in jpg (for the photograph), doc or pdf format.
As soon as the Federal Press Service receives your data, you will be sent email confirmation of successful delivery. The Federal Press Service will also confirm your accreditation by email. We draw your attention to the fact that your data will be both checked for accuracy and scrutinised by the Austrian security authorities. The protection and security of your personal data is important to us. Until 25 May 2018, your data is subject to the provisions of the Austrian Data Protection Act 2000 (Federal Act concerning the Protection of Personal Data, Federal Law Gazette I No. 165/1999 (DSG 2000)). Subsequently it is subject to the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (GDPR) as well as the provisions of the Data Protection Act in the version dated 25 May 2018, as amended by the Data Protection Amendment Act. As a user of the online accreditation system, you agree to your data being processed for the purpose described above.
The online accreditation system contains a list of all the events for which you can register. Please register no later than 14 days before the beginning of the event you wish to attend.
Once you have been granted accreditation, it is valid for the duration of the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Your personal password allows you to make changes, for example, register for further events. When registering for further events, you will not be asked to re-enter your personal details.
To collect your accreditation badge, you will need to present the following documents:
- accreditation confirmation
- valid press card or the original letter of assignment from your media organisation
- government-issued photo identification (identity card, passport or driving licence)
You can collect your accreditation badge from the #eu2018at media accreditation desk in the
Austria Center Vienna
Bruno-Kreisky-Platz 1
1220 Vienna
or from the
Media Accreditation Office of the Federal Press Service
Hofburg – entrance Schauflergasse 1
1010 Vienna.
For events taking place at other venues, please collect your accreditation badge from the Media Accreditation Office of the Federal Press Service or from the media accreditation desk of the venue’s media centre.
The accreditation badge is non-transferable and must be worn visibly at all times during the event. You will also have to be able at all times to prove your identity by means of government-issued photo identification. Loss of your badge must be reported immediately to the Media Accreditation Office of the Federal Press Service or to the venue’s media accreditation desk.
Please apply for accreditation for the Austrian Presidency as early as possible – and no later than 14 days before the first event you wish to attend. On-site accreditation will be possible only in exceptional cases and you may have to wait some time for your badge in this case.
Owing to space constraints, the number of people admitted to events open to the media may, in exceptional cases, be limited. Should the situation arise, a pool regime will be put in place. This will be announced in advance on the Austrian Presidency website and listed under the event concerned.
In exceptional cases, ad hoc media accreditation will be granted. The following documents must be presented at the Media Accreditation Office of the Federal Press Service or, prior to an event, at the venue’s media centre:
- government-issued photo identification (identity card or passport)
- valid press card or the original letter of assignment from your media organisation
In this case you may have to wait some time for your badge. The Federal Press Service reserves the right to deny accreditation to media representatives on objective grounds and for security reasons.
PLEASE NOTE: Accreditation for European Council meetings and official Council meetings in Brussels and Luxembourg will, as usual, not be organised by the Austrian Presidency, but rather the press centre of the Council of the European Union. For further information, see