Executive committee meets during third European Games in Krakow

The European Olympic Committees (EOC) Executive Committee (ExCo) met in Krakow, Poland on 24 June 2023, during the third edition of the European Games, which are taking place from 21 June – 2 July 2023. The highlights of the ExCo meeting are as follows

Report of EOC President Spyros Capralos

• President Spyros Capralos welcomed everybody to Krakow and to the third edition of the European Games.
• He welcomed Polish Olympic Committee Vice-President Tomasz Chamera and thanked him for the support that NOC of Poland is giving to the organisation of the Games.
• He welcomed Ukraine Olympic Committee President Vladimir Guttsait, reiterating the continued support to the Ukrainian NOC and community.
• Discussed the EOC’s support for the Ukrainian team.
• Thanked the Local Organising Committee, the Polish Olympic Committee and the local authorities for their coordination and for their achievements in organising the European Games, highlighting the positive comments made by stakeholders.
• Highlighted the work of the EOC Coordination Commission for the European Games 2023 and Chair Hasan Arat for their role and the work they have undertaken before and during the games to ensure any issues have been resolved.
• Noted that the games have been organised in difficult times due to the Covid pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the influx of refugees, the economic situation across Europe and due to the political issues in Poland.
• Congratulated the LOC for delivering a high-level Games despite these outside pressures.
• Acknowledged that sustainability is a key priority for the EOC and highlighted that the LOC did not have to build any new facilities, refurbishing existing venues instead.
• Confirmed that the European Games have started well and expressed his confidence that this would continue for the remaining week of action.
• Emphasised the solidarity shown by other continental associations and National Olympic Committees having welcomed Neven Ilic, the President of PANAM Sports and H.E. Sheikh Joaan Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar and Vice-President of ANOC, to the Opening Ceremony.
• Pointed to the high-level television production that has been produced by host broadcasters Mediapro, describing the images as Olympic quality in all sports and thanking the production company.
• Noted anticipation for the Esports competitions when they begin on Friday 30 June and encouraged all ExCo members to experience the event in action.
• Noted that, in their third edition, the EOC now have extensive knowledge of what is needed to host a successful European Games and that the creation of a taskforce at the end of the Games to highlight the areas of improvement needed, the areas where the EOC and the LOC excelled and the areas where future additional effort from EOC and outside companies may be needed – this included re-assessing the host city contract
• Reserved special thanks to EOC ExCo member Liney Halldorsdottir and EOC Sports Director Peter Brull for their roles in ensuring that the European Games are a success.
• Highlighted the success of the Games of the Small States of Europe in Malta and the importance of the event to the 10 countries involved, as well as the special friendships they share thanks to the Games.
• Looked ahead to the Summer European Youth Olympic Festival in Maribor in July and explained the growing importance of the event to the EOC. Praised the Slovenian Olympic Committee and the President for their tremendous work and the professional nature of the LOC in Slovenia.

Updates to the EOC constitution

• The recommendations discussed during the ExCo meeting in Paris have been implemented.
• The text is ready to be sent to the National Olympic Committees for their remarks, which will be received in advance of the General Assembly (GA) in Istanbul in October.
• These will be considered ahead of anticipated approval at the GA.

Report of EOC Secretary General Raffaele Pagnozzi

• Thanked the EOC Head Office team for their work on the European Games and other events during a busy year.
• In his report, he commented on the continued work towards meeting the UN Framework on Climate Change “Sport for Climate Action Framework”.
• Talked about the work done with Atos on the European Games app and the ability of athletes to share video footage of their performances on their social media channels.
• Informed the ExCo about the work conducted with the ITA to ensure that the anti-doping work of the European Games is of the highest class.
• Commented on the Maribor 2023 EYOF, the GSSE in Malta, the Paris 2024 European House plans and ANOC.

Report of EOC Treasurer Peter Mennel

• Emphasised the financial success of the European Games.
• Noted the need to look at the funding provided to event organisers due to inflation.
• Highlight that the Maribor EYOF has received a significant financial contribution to organise the event, thanks also to the support of the EU Erasmus + funding.
• The Audit Committee certified that there are no impediments to the approval of the 2022 financial statements.
• The financial statements will be approved at the GA in Istanbul in October 2023.

Report of European Games 2023 Coordination Commission Chair Hasan Arat

• Highlighted the huge contribution that all members of the Coordination Commission have made to ensuring that the Games run smoothly.
• Agreed that a taskforce should be set up to prepare a written report on the Games and to create a manual moving forward.
• Confirmed that the EOC have received all the promised payments from partners.
• Discussed some of the issues encountered during the Games and the solutions required to address them, as well as the speed with which Coordination Commission members or ExCo members have dealt with any. Noted some of the ongoing issues at the Games.
• Praised the set-up of the Athletes’ Village, media centre, the broadcast centre and the Atos Technology Operations Centre.
• Highlighted the innovations on show at the Games and hard work of Atos:
  • More than 750 clips are being created by a team of 30 people at the IBC every day
  • 500 athletes signed up to share footage of their events in the first three days of competitions
  • NOCs and European Federations are also able to post footage of the Games
  • Noted that the EOC’s social media channels are experiencing significant growth during the Games thanks to the footage captured on the ground by a professional social media team.
  • Praised Mediapro and the EBU for the high-quality images on show via television in all sports.

EYOF updates by EYOF Commission Chair Liney Rut Halldorsdottir

• Updates were given on the state of the EYOFs:
• Summer EYOF Maribor 2023
  • Preparations are going well and there is confidence that it will be a very professional event
  • The LOC have been speaking to past and future hosts to ensure best practice is implemented
• Winter EYOF Borjomi-Bakuriani 2025
  • The Host City Contract for the Winter EYOF Borjomi-Bakuriani 2025 has been signed
  • The organising committee are starting their preparations.
  • The Coordination Commission will be chaired by Florin Misca
• Other news
  • North Macedonia have expressed an interest in hosting a future EYOF
  • Due to the urgency of confirming a host for 2025 EYOF, the ExCo approved the candidature, which would be ratified from the GA in Istanbul
  • An EOC delegation will soon make a site visit to Skopje to assess the status of the potential host city’s infrastructures
  • The next EYOF commission meeting in Iceland has been postponed as it now clashes with the Mediterranean Games.
  • It will now be in Brussels on 8 November.

EU Matters

• Commissioner Mariya Gabriel has stepped down from her role and Vice President Margaritis Schinas will be responsible for education, culture and youth until the next elections in 2024.
• Members of the European Commission attended the European Games on Friday, 23 June.
• Eleven NOCs participated in an in-house training programme, which was financed by the Olympic Solidarity Fund and focused on applying for funding.
• The Olympic Solidarity will finance a second round of training to be held with other NOCs who did not take part.

52nd EOC General Assembly I Istanbul (TUR), 6-7 October 2023

Preparations continue for the GA and one of the days may entirely focus on the European Games.

ANOC

• Preparations for the World Beach Games and General Assembly are ongoing.
• More than 100 countries are competing with the final qualifications taking place next week.
• Have had reassurances from Indonesia that Israel will be allowed to enter the country and take part.
• 3x3basketball has been removed from the sport programme due to the cost of the venue.
• The EOC House, Paris 2024 Olympic Games
• Plans for an EOC house at Paris 2024 are still ongoing but, due to the resignation of CNOSF President Brigitte Henriques, need to be reviewed.

EOC Calendar

It was noted that a review of when events are held is needed with four EOC events and the ANOC World Beach Games all taking place in 2023.

Source: EG23 - Organiser's press releases