The International Press Association (API-IPA), representing the interests of the foreign correspondents in Brussels, has learned that the Belgian authorities will start charging €50 to journalists seeking EU summit accreditation, for their security screening every six months (or €100 per year).
API considers this fee discriminatory in three ways:
- First, because it will apply only to journalists who reside in Belgium and not to journalists coming from other countries.
- Second, because free lancers – who represent a large part of the correspondents in Brussels – will have to pay the fee themselves, while employees from media organisations will be able to have the expense covered by their employers.
- Third, because especially smaller media organisations will suffer from such a cost, and because of this they may be less in a position to cover EU summits in an appropriate professional way.
API considers that the charge, which was put into law by the Belgian parliament early this year and was introduced without any warning or consultation, is an unnecessary obstacle to the work of journalists and will restrict media access to events of great public interest.
API – together with the Belgian journalist associations VVJ and AJP – therefore calls on the Belgian authorities, and in particular on the interior and foreign affairs ministers who are responsible for the security screening, as well as on prime-minister Charles Michel, to drop this decision.
