HOC President Spyros Caoralos attended today the meeting of the Council of EU Sports Ministers in Luxembourg and gave a speech as President of the European Olympic Committees.
Mr. Spyros Capralos participated in the discussion on “promoting the values ​​of the European Union through sport”, together with the French Minister Delegate in charge of Sports, Roxana Maracineanu and the European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Mariya Gabriel.
The President of EOE, starting his speech on the European Sport Model.with the war in Ukraine: “Together with the International Olympic Committee and NOCs of Europe, the European Olympic family will continue to show unity and solidarity with the people of Ukraine.
These are key values of European society, but also also pertinent to today’s discussion on the European Sport model.”
Then, Mr. Capralos pointed out: “We cannot escape the fact that sport is in a fragile financial state, and it is no secret that investment is needed. However, it is critical that all investment, whether private or public, considers the sustainable growth of European sport.
The European Union has been a key proponent of this long-term view, and the Olympic Movement is greatly appreciative of all initiatives and discussions in favour of the European Sport Model at the EU level.
Most recently, under the Slovenian Presidency, sport ministers of EU member states adopted a resolution on the European Sport Model.
Additionally, the European Parliament backed the model in the “Frankowski report”, and currently we are awaiting the outcome of a study on by the European Commission.
Finally, we are very grateful for recent meetings with European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas, who kindly addressed our Executive Committee meeting last month.
However, in spite of all these excellent activities, there is still some misunderstanding in the sports movement on certain aspects of the model.”
At the end of his speech, Mr Capralos noticed: “We – that includes public authorities, sport organisations and also the commercial sector – must collaborate to find solutions for the sake of sport, the athletes and society at large. And we must stay focused on delivering on the concrete actions that will shape our future. Please help us keep the unique European Sport Model alive and let’s work together to improve it and make it more resilient for the future.”