HELCOM Ministerial Meeting in Moscow

Helsinki, 7 May (HELCOM Information Service) – HELCOM, the intergovernmental organisation of all the nine Baltic Sea countries and the EU working for the protection of the Baltic marine environment, will hold the Meeting of the Ministers of the Environment of its Member States on 20 May 2010 in Moscow. The Ministers will discuss the current state of the Baltic marine environment and the implementation of a strategic Baltic Sea Action Plan to radically reduce pollution to the sea and restore its good ecological status by 2021. The HELCOM Member States will present their National Implementation Programmes to achieve the objectives of the Baltic Sea Action Plan.

The HELCOM Ministerial Meeting will take place at Hotel Baltschug-Kempinski (3^rd floor, Atrium Hall), Ul. Balchug 1, Moscow, Russia. Working sessions are scheduled to begin at 09:00 and conclude at 13:00. There will be a photo opportunity at the beginning of the Meeting. Print media and news agencies will also be invited to the room to cover the opening statement. The Meeting will be followed by a joint press conference of the Ministers of the HELCOM Member States at 13:00-14:00 (Vladimir room). Please see the detailed media programme attached below.

All media representatives wishing to cover the Meeting and participate in the press conference must request accreditation. For media already accredited in Russia, call the press office of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation: (+7 495) 254-16-00 or 254-75-77. For those who will be travelling to Russia to cover the event, prior accreditation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation is required. Upon arrival in Russia, please call (+7 499) 244-18-22. An assignment letter from the editor and two 3x4 cm photos will be required. The application could take up to two days to process. Accreditation is open to representatives of bone fide news-gathering organisations and freelance media representatives on assignment for recognized news organisations.

Meeting credentials for the accredited press will be distributed at 08:00-08:45 at the Registration near the Atrium Hall. The Media will be provided with the Meeting background materials.

For details on the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan, please visit HELCOM’s web site at

http://www.helcom.fi/BSAP/en_GB/About_BSAP/. For details on the Summit, please visit HELCOM’s web site at http://www.helcom.fi/BSAP/MinisterialMeeting2010/en_GB/front/ or http://www.helcom2010.ru/. Additionally, please regularly check HELCOM’s web site (www.helcom.fi) for news updates.  

For more information, please contact:

Mr. Nikolay Vlasov

Information Secretary

HELCOM

Mobile: +358 (0)46 850 9196

Fax: +358 (0)207 412 645

E-mail: nikolay.vlasov@helcom.fi

For Daybooks:

Event:             HELCOM Ministerial Meeting

Date:              Thursday, 20 May 2010

Time:              09:00-13:00

Location:        Hotel Baltschug-Kempinski (3^rd floor, Atrium Hall),

                       Ul. Balchug 1, Moscow, Russia

Event:             Press conference following the HELCOM Ministerial Meeting

Date:              Thursday, 20 May 2008

Time:              13:00-14:00

Location:        Hotel Baltschug-Kempinski (Vladimir room),

                       Ul. Balchug 1, Moscow, Russia

Media Programme

HELCOM Ministerial Meeting, 20 May 2010

Hotel Baltschug-Kempinski (3^rd floor, Atrium Hall), Ul. Balchug 1, Moscow, Russia

08:00 – 08:45– Distribution of Meeting credentials for the accredited press

08:00 – 08:45 – Broadcast media will have access to the Meeting room to set up equipment

09:00 – 09:20 – Photo opportunity at the opening of the Meeting for still photographers and TV

                          crews, print media and news agencies are also invited to attend to the cover the

                          opening statement, no questions will be allowed  

13:00  – 14:00 – Press conference  (Vladimir room)