The European Olympic Committees (EOC) is pleased to announce that a partnership was signed between the EOC EU Office and Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee (BOIC) in Baku, Azerbaijan on 22 July 2019. The agreement was officially signed by EOC President Janez Kocijančič and BOIC President Baron Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant during the 15th Summer European Youth Olympic Summer Festival (EYOF) in the Azerbaijan’s capital.
The partnership agreement comes after an already well-established cooperation between the BOIC and the EOC EU Office, as they have worked together on the implementation of good governance and integrity related projects, including “Support the Implementation of Good Governance in Sport” (SIGGS) and “Single Points of Contact for Integrity in Sport” (POINTS).
EOC President Janez Kocijančič stated: “We are very satisfied of this new partnership, especially because it comes from the same city where our branch office is based. I am sure there will be a fruitful cooperation.”
BOIC President Baron Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant expressed his satisfaction by stating: "The BOIC is happy to join this strong network of European NOC’s and Federations as well as the IOC. We value the work of the EOC EU Office and see its importance. The EU presents the Olympic Movement with both challenges and opportunities and we need to be actively involved in this work.”
Director of the EOC EU Office Folker Hellmund said: “I’m very pleased to welcome the BOIC on board. Brussels is the heart of the EU’s activities and this partnership will strengthen even more our long-standing collaboration.”
For the EOC EU Office, BOIC is the 15th National Olympic Committee to become official bilateral partner and the 29th partner organisation overall. The EOC EU Office is the representative body of the EOC to the European Union. Furthermore, it represents the interests of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and other partner organisations towards the EU institutions. The full list of the EOC EU Office’s partner network can be found on the website: http://www.euoffice.eurolympic.org/partners.