The European Olympic Committees (EOC) Executive Committee (ExCo) met in Paris, France on 11 May 2023 ahead of the 43rd EOC Seminar, which took place from 12 – 13 May 2023. The highlights of the ExCo meeting are as follows.
Report of EOC President Spyros Capralos
- President Capralos welcomed everyone to Paris and expressed his delight at being here just over one year before the Games
- Commented on the busy period the Olympic Movement is entering with the highlight for Europe being the European Games next month
- Spoke about the modernisation of the EOC. Highlighted that the streaming of the EYOF on the EOC Channel has increased the popularity and reach of the Festival
- Progress in making the EOC more professional is also being made with the appointment of an experienced Sport Director and with the plan to appoint a paid CEO
- Reflected on the importance of high standards of governance. Noted that good governance is not just the application of core principles like transparency and accountability, but the creation of mechanisms to effectively deliver core parts of the Olympic Movements mission in Europe, including sustainability and gender equality
- Commented how the Covid-19 Pandemic and the invasion of Ukraine has had a huge and damaging impact on the world, however the EOC has still made progress through this period
- Emphasised the importance of solidarity with Ukraine and the need to work on the return of athletes and their integration
- Spoke about the importance of continuing the strong relations with the EU, and highlighted how this is coming to fruition with the recent support to Poland and the Polish organisers of the European Games
- Highlighted the importance of taking every opportunity to promote the Olympic Values and initiatives, which are being discussed to support the European NOCs
- Honoured Manolo Romero, former head of Olympic Broadcasting Services, for the important contribution he made to the Movement
- Provided a proposal of the suggested changes to the EOC Articles of Association, which the EOC Legal Commission is working on*
Report of EOC Secretary General Raffaele Pagnozzi
- Thanked the EOC head office team for their hard work across the many projects
- Highlighted the key areas of activity for the EOC over the last few months
- The Strategic Agenda 2030 is a formidable working tool but implementing it will be a huge task
- Commented on working towards meeting the requirements for the UN Climate Change “Sport For Climate Action Framework”, which is a very complex process
- Highlighted the focus of Head Office on social media and digital transformation, including the partnership with Atos
- Talked about the preparations for the GSSE, European Games and Summer EYOF
- Provided an update on the Winter and Summer EYOFs in 2025
- Informed the ExCo that WADA have completed their Code Compliance Review. The only request was for EOC to offer athletes the possibility of using the REVEAL whistleblowing platform, which the EOC have provided
- Plans for the European House at Paris 2024 are progressing well
Report of EOC Treasurer Peter Mennel
- Reported about 2023 accounts that are in line with budget to date
- The 2023 Olympic Solidarity budget has been received from IOC
- The NOC and Special Activities programme has started
- EOC Audit Committee met in April in Rome. The committee confirmed there is no impediments and recommended approval by the ExCo of the 2022 financial statement
- He also reported about the EOC financial position about the European Games 2023
Report of European Games 2023 Coordination Commission Chair Hasan Arat
- Highlighted there is only one month to go until the start of the Games
- The Coordination Commission met recently and had an excellent meeting
- The Sport schedule is finalised and approximately 7,000 athletes from 48 countries are expected to attend, with the largest athlete numbers coming from Athletics.
- The Games will take place across 11 different cities and towns across the region
- Of the sports finalised, 18 are Olympic sports and eight are non-Olympic sports. Seventeen of the Olympic sports have qualification places for Paris 2024
- The team support grant was announced to NOCs in March
- LOT airlines commercial deal has offered a very positive deal for NOCs
- They have established a dedicated office to deal directly with NOCs but unfortunately not many NOCs have taken up this offer
- Esports Championships have been confirmed during the European Games
- Partnership with 50Digital was announced in March – hope to increase longevity and appeal of the Games on social media
- The Flame of Peace Ceremony successfully took place in April
- Highlighted the importance of having the first EOC Refugee Team competing at a European Games. The team will consist of five members across two sports, three in taekwondo and two in boxing. This is very important for the EOC
- Commented the financial and political situation is very difficult in Poland and the country is doing a fantastic job particularly in the current circumstances
- There is great confident the Games will be excellent
EYOF updates by EYOF Commission Chair Liney Rut Halldorsdottir
- Updates were given on the status of the EYOFs
- XVII EYOF Summer Maribor (SLO) will take place between 23-29 July 2023
- Preparations are going very well with a compact and professional event in the planning
- There are challenges due to inflation and financial matters
- Flame Ceremony will take place in Rome on 31 May
- XVII EYOF Winter – Bakuriani (GEO) 10-17 February 2025
- The Host city contract has been signed and the CoCom will visit soon
- EYOF Summer 2025 will be held in Croatia and the host city contract should soon be signed
- EYOF 2027 – candidates have come forward but there is no selection on this yet
Games of the Small States of Europe (GSSE)
- Very important event for the small countries of Europe
- Preparations are going well
EOC Strategic Agenda 2030
- The final document has been approved by NOCs
- Strategic Agenda 2030 is in place and the next step is to ensure full implementation
- Recommended an update report is given every year at the General Assembly (GA) to ensure progress and accountability
EOC Commissions
- Updates were given across various commissions including;
Marketing Commission
- The Commission recently met in Split, Croatia and two working group have been created to focus on specific areas, these are:
- marketing and guidelines
- new revenue stream
Gender Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (GEDI) Commission
- Busy period across Europe on this topic
- Have been working closely with the IOC commission and also the EOC EU Office on a project to support NOCs
- Responses were received to the GEDI survey from 20 NOCs. Feedback was given on NOC status in this area and on potential areas help is required
- Urgently need to look at Safeguarding across EOC events, focusing on the need and risks. Also to offer support to the NOCs
- Looking into a possible project through EOC EU Office to support those NOCs who have asked for help
Sustainability & Active Society Commission
- Concrete action plans based on Strategic Agenda 2030 are being created to present at the next EOC ExCo and then the GA in Turkey to ensure ownership by the NOCs
- They are supporting the EOC work around the Sports for Climate Action Framework
52nd EOC General Assembly
- The 52nd EOC GA will take place in Turkey 6 – 7 October
- Much time has been spent looking at the format to ensure the GA is more active and modern, these updates will be put in place in Turkey
ANOC
- A Council meeting was held in Madrid in March and Commissions were confirmed with delegates from European NOCs in all commissions
- The 2024 ANOC GA was confirmed and will be held in the last week of October in Cascais, Portugal
- Progress is being made with the Beach Games in Bali in August but there is much work still to do
- The Chef de Mission Seminar was held two weeks ago with 100 NOCs attending
- Reported that there is good cooperation with International Federations
- There should be 108 NOCs in attendance at the Game
EOC Calendar
- Noted there is one change for the calendar: the Mediterranean Beach Games has been postponed one week and will take place from 9-16 September 2023
*Proposed changes to the EOC Articles of Association
- Limit mandates for Officers and other Members of the Executive Committee to 3 consecutive terms of 4 years each as of next elections. This change will not operate retroactively.
- Eliminate the term “Quadruka” as the definition of the Officers of the EOC as a group (President, Vice President, Secretary General and Treasurer) and replace it with “Bureau” and charge it with ordinary business in-between Executive Committee meetings and to prepare these meetings.
- Insert the option of taking on a salaried employee as CEO responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Association as mandated by the Executive Committee.
- Consequently, remodulate the duties of a voluntary Secretary General responsible for the statutory functions of the Association.
- For reasons of independence, remit any disciplinary appeals not to an Extra-Ordinary General Assembly but the Ethics Commission, and where this doesn’t resolve to the CAS (Art.21.4).
- Rethink the role of the Vice President in such case as the President is incapacitated, resigns or dies, requiring immediate presidential elections.
- Change the name Articles of Association to Constitution, the latter being much clearer.
- Coordinate article 21 Ethics Commission in light of approved Code of Ethics.
- Reduce the notice period for General Assembly meetings (30 days), with the exception of the electoral ones.
- Reduce the notice period for Executive Committee meetings (5 days).
