Western Balkans Summit Vienna 2015

The Western Balkans Summit will take place on Thursday, 27 August 2015 in Vienna. This year’s summit is part of the Berlin Process, a five-year process marked by yearly summits in order to underline the commitment to EU-enlargement towards the Western Balkans region. The focus of the initiative is on those countries of the Western Balkans that are not yet EU-members: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. The EU-participants at the Summit are those countries, who have committed themselves to organise next years’ summit meetings: in addition to last year’s and this year’s organisers Germany and Austria, this are France and Italy. The process is also strongly supported by Slovenia and Croatia. Last year’s summit took place in Berlin on 28 August 2014 and gave important impulses for progress in the areas of regional cooperation, economy and the rule of law.

The Vienna Western Balkans Summit is divided into three segments: for Prime Ministers, Foreign Ministers and Ministers of Economy, followed by a concluding joint working luncheon hosted by the Austrian President.

The main topics of the Summit will be ‘infrastructure and connectivity’, ‘regional cooperation’, ‘youth’ and the ‘refugee challenge’. A civil society forum is going to take place on 26 August in Vienna, the results of which will be fed into the Summit meetings. Apart from the Prime Ministers and Ministers of the invited countries, the President and Members of the European Commission as well as the Presidents of the International Financial Institutions are expected to attend the Vienna Summit.

Media

Media accreditation will be carried out by the Austrian Federal Press Service. 

Media Events

Media Timetable
Please follow #WEBS15vienna for any notifications and logistics. 

Media Center

„Großer Redoutensaal“ Vienna Hofburg
Josefsplatz, 1010  Vienna 
Entrance via „Kleine Redoutenstiege“ (Vienna Hofburg Josefsplatz, passageway between Schweizerhof and Josefsplatz 

Opening hours
Thursday: 27 August 2015 – 8:00 am – 5:00 pm  

Accreditation Policy

Media Registration

In order to get accreditation to all the press events foreseen during the Western Balkans Summit, the media are kindly asked to register with the Austrian Federal Press Service online:

Online Media Accreditation

In order to receive a Badge for the Western Balkans Summit please follow the instructions of ‘accreditation for events’.

Media registration is available as of now!

Badges can be picked up at the desk of the Austrian Federal Press Service (Innerer Burghof) or at the “Kleinen Redoutenstiege” (Vienna Hofburg Josefsplatz, passageway between Schweizerhof and Josefsplatz). You must present a valid press card or the original letter of confirmation of your media organization together with an official photo-ID (identity card, passport, driver's license).

Important: Please note that there will be no access to the media events without a valid badge. Badges must be worn at all times. Please note that badges are not transferable.

Badges can be picked up at the Austrian Federal Press Service (Innerer Burghof) on:

Wednesday                  26 August 2015               9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Badges can be picked up at the “Kleinen Redoutenstiege” (Vienna Hofburg Josefsplatz, passageway between Schweizerhof and Josefsplatz) on:

Thursday                      27 August 2015               9:00 am – 2:00 pm

Location

Local Area  - Western Balkans Summit Vienna
Map

Austrian Federal Press Service 1^st. District:
Map

"Kleine Redoutenstiege", Hofburg Josefsplatz:
Map

Livestream

Contacts

Austrian Federal Press Service
Contact Accreditation:
Phone: +43 1 531 15-202561
E-Mail

Irene Kaufmann
Telefon: +43-1-53115 202561
Fax: +43-1-53109 202561
E-Mail

Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs
Marianne Schlögl
Western Balkans department
Phone: +43 50 11 50-3936 
E-Mail

Martin Weiss
Spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry
Phone: +43 (0)50 11 50-3418
E-Mail

Helene Spitzer
Press officer
Phone: +43 50 11 50-3395
E-Mail

During off-hours and for emergencies only please call the following number: +43 1 90115 3320 (Austrian Foreign Ministry – on-call duty)

Federal Chancellery of the Republic of Austria
Anna Maria Reich
Spokesperson Federal Chancellor
Phone: +43 1 531 15-202305
Mobile: +43 664 610 63 90
E-Mail 

Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy
Waltraud Kaserer
Spokesperson
Phone: +43 1 711 00 5108
E-Mail