European Olympic Committees (EOC) President Spyros Capralos held meetings with key figures at the European Commission in Brussels as well as visiting the Belgian National Olympic Committee (BOIC) on 21 February.

President Capralos is in Belgium for the kick-off meeting of the EOC EU Office’s OCEAN Project on 22 February and on the first day of his visit, met with Vice-President of the European Commission Margaritis Schinas.

The OCEAN Project was one of the subjects discussed as the Vice-President asked for more information on the EOC’s sustainability-related efforts, with 18 European National Olympic Committees signed up.

They also talked about the European Games Krakow-Małopolska 2023 and how preparations for the third edition of Europe’s premier multi-sport event are progressing, as well as the possibility of hosting a joint EU-EOC Forum in Lausanne.

President Capralos and Vice-President Schinas also covered the latest on Russian and Belarusian athletes’ participation in events following the invasion of Ukraine.

The EOC President then followed this with a meeting with European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth Mariya Gabriel.

President Capralos thanked Commissioner Gabriel for the Erasmus+ €1 million support of the European Games 2023 in Poland and emphasised the important Erasmus+ Sport Programme for the European Olympic Movement.

As well as information on the OCEAN Project, they also discussed the latest on the GAMES project, which aims to improve gender equality in key leadership and decision-making positions of European NOCs.

President Capralos ended the day with a visit to the BOIC headquarters, where he met with President Jean-Michel Saive and Secretary General Cédric Van Branteghem.