There is a lot that must run smoothly when the EU heads of state and government meet. It is not just political issues that must be moved forward, there is food to prepare and a programme to arrange, there are podiums to build and work stations to set up for the almost 1000 journalists who are covering the meeting.

“The food not only has to be nice, it also has to be easy to eat even if you need to talk at the same time, and it must not be easily spilt”, says Helena Björck, meeting coordinator for the summit and employed at the Permanent Representation of Sweden to the EU in Brussels.

Today’s summit is an extra working dinner. Its purpose is to prepare the EU’s position ahead of the G20 summit in the USA in a week or so’s time.

Helena Björck works together with Cecilia Jörgensen on organisation of meetings during the Swedish Presidency. Ahead of the meeting today their tasks include finding out what interpreters are required, arranging accreditation, working with florists to decorate the dining room where the meeting will take place, helping to choose appropriate food for the meeting and liaising with the Council Secretariat, where the meeting will take place.

Almost 1 000 journalists

Nicolas Kerleroux is head of the Press Service at the Council Secretariat and has worked on some 40 summits. Around 60 people work with different aspects of the press service at the Secretariat.

“This is an extra summit so we expect between 900 and 1 000 journalists. But at the ordinary summit in October, there may be over 2 000 journalists.”

Since 2002 almost all summits are held in the European Council’s building in Brussels. One reason for this is to keep costs down. The large atrium in the building’s entrance hall is converted to a workplace for journalists during the meeting. The Council Press Service also arranges for television and radio journalists to be able to broadcast from the building and ensures that photographers get opportunities to take pictures of those in power.

“The preparations begin a few weeks before the summit and we work to carefully established routines so everyone knows what they have to do. Today it’s mostly a matter of making sure everything is in place”, says Nicolas Kerleroux.

The summit that the Council had the shortest time to organise was last September’s summit on the war in Georgia, explains Nicolas Kerleroux.

“Then we had exactly a week to arrange the meeting. But it isn’t possible to do it in less time than that”, says Nicolas Kerleroux.