Ahead of the start of an Olympic Games Paris 2024, which is set to highlight the strength of European unity, the European Olympic Committees (EOC) has signed an Agreement of Cooperation with the European Commission.

This renewed Agreement is a major milestone in the EOC’s efforts to promote sport and healthy lifestyles across the continent, and underlines its commitment to working with key partners in EU institutions through its dedicated European Olympic Committees EU Office.

The Agreement of Cooperation runs through to the end of 2027, covering the 4th European Games in Istanbul, which will cement Europe’s leading role at the heart of global sport, and four editions of the European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF).

The EOC and UEFA are the only sports organisations to have entered into an agreement of this kind with the European Commission.

Today’s signing ceremony at the Hôtel du Collectionneur in Paris was attended by EOC President Spyros Capralos, EOC Secretary General Raffaele Pagnozzi, the European Commission Vice-President for Promoting our European Way of Life Margaritis Schinas and his Head of Cabinet Despina Spanou.

Paris 2024
Olympic Games
European Commission
Spyros Capralos – Margaritis Schoinas

President Capralos underlined the significance of the Agreement in furthering the societal role of sport in Europe.
“The EOC is delighted to strengthen our excellent working relationship with the European Commission through this Agreement of Cooperation. Working closely with European institutions is vital to ensure we effectively use the power of sport to inspire healthy lifestyles and encourage physical activity and social inclusion across the continent,” President Capralos said.
“This Agreement will enable the EOC to enhance our collaboration with the European Commission on key projects, and build on the display of European unity that will be showcased at the Olympic Games.”

The EOC EU Office based in Brussels serves as the representation of the EOC to EU institutions, regularly attending key conferences and forums and leading several EU-funded projects in areas including good governance, sustainability and gender equality.
Vice-President Schinas commented: “The European Commission is pleased to continue working with the EOC through this Agreement of Cooperation to promote the power of sport and physical activity across the continent.

We are happy to be signing the Agreement here in Paris, where the Olympic Games will serve as an incredible platform to demonstrate European unity through sport over the next 16 days and beyond.
This Agreement will allow the EU Commission and the EOC to continue inspiring more people to participate in sport long after Paris 2024, according to the Olympics calendar of sport events.”
The Director of the EOC EU Office Folker Hellmund hailed the strengthening of the EOC’s ties with the European Commission.
“I am proud of the whole team at the EOC EU Office, which has worked extremely hard on this prestigious Agreement of Cooperation with the European Commission. We have already worked closely on many successful projects and look forward to furthering our cooperation through this Agreement. We are confident this will strengthen the EOC’s role in shaping the future of values-based European sport” Hellmund said.

The signing ceremony for the Agreement of the Cooperation came on the same day as the Opening Ceremony for the first Olympic Games in Europe for more than a decade.

This will be the first Olympic Games where the European flag is displayed in venues alongside the Olympic flag, and is the beginning of a pipeline of major events taking place on the continent with EYOF in Bakuriani and Summer EYOF in Skopje in 2025, the Olympic Winter Games Milano-Cortina 2026 and the 2027 European Games in Istanbul.