President Spyros Capralos delivered a report on the European Olympic Committees’ (EOC) latest activity during the Association of National Olympic Committees’ (ANOC) Executive Council meeting in Madrid on 31 March.

President Capralos, who is the ANOC Vice-President for Europe, updated the Council on the preparations ahead of a busy summer for the EOC, with the European Games Krakow-Malopolska 2023 taking place between the Games of the Small States of Europe in Malta in May and the summer European Youth Olympic Festival in Maribor in July.

He focused on the continued efforts to establish and implement a sustainability plan for the EOC and National Olympic Committees of Europe, mentioning the OCEAN project which was set up between the EOC EU Office and ANOC and held its kick-off meetings in February.

The President also highlighted conversations with European Paralympic Committee President Raymond Blondel over the possibility of cooperating in concrete terms, especially around EOC sports events, as well as a review of the constitution by the EOC Legal Commission ahead of the General Assembly in Istanbul in October.

President Capralos said: “ANOC Executive Council meetings are always important. As well as informing the Council of the work we are currently doing at the EOC, it is an opportunity to hear about the initiatives and plans of the other Continental Associations in their Presidents’ reports, and to see what we can learn from them.

“It was also good to hear an update on the preparations for the ANOC Beach Games in Bali in August and I look forward to seeing our European athletes in action in Indonesia.”

ANOC Members for Europe Daina Gudzineviciute, Raffaele Pagnozzi, Andrzej Krasnicki, Nese Gundogan and Alejandro Blanco all attended the meeting, where it was confirmed that the 2024 General Assembly will return to Europe with Cascais, Portugal announced as the hosts.

ANOC President Robin Mitchell said: “Today was another very productive Executive Council meeting and reinforced the important role ANOC has to play in the Olympic Movement. Throughout our discussions, the message of unity and solidarity was a recurring theme. We are facing challenging times, but it is imperative that we remain united and continue to focus on supporting athletes.”