Webcast transmissions availaible of the open sessions of EU councils

The EU Member States agreed in June that the open sessions of the Council of Ministers’ meetings will be transmitted live on the Internet. The Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) that convenes on 11 July is the first council meeting which will be webcast on the part of its open sessions in accordance with the June decision. It is possible to view the webcast of the presentation of the agenda and discussion on the external lending mandates of the European Investment Bank on Finland’s EU Presidency website at www.eu2006.fi/webcasts.

In July, the Presidency web team and the Council Secretariat will be jointly responsible for the webcasts. The web team prepares a live RealPlayer version in English of the councils’ open sessions that can be viewed later from the archive of the Presidency website.

The Council Secretariat transmits the sessions at the moment in five languages: English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. It aims to start transmissions of the open sessions in all official EU languages in the future. The transmissions of the open sessions can be viewed at the Council website at www.consilium.europa.eu/videostreaming.

Available webcasts of the open sessions are listed at www.eu2006.fi/webcasts. The list will be updated as soon as decisions on future council agendas and schedules are made.

The Presidency website also offers webcasts of the unofficial ministerial meetings organised during Finland’s EU Presidency and, for example, press conferences held in connection with European Council meetings.

Further information: on webcasts, Miia Lahti, Web Editor-in-Chief, Government Communications Unit, tel. +358 9 160 22161 or +358 40 820 1001 and on transparency issues, Kirsi Salo, Legislative Counsellor, Ministry of Justice, tel. +358 9 160 67751

Source: Finland’s EU Presidency press release, 11 July 2006