On 9 November 2018, the NOC of Lithuania agreed to a bilateral agreement to become partner of the EOC EU Office. The agreement was signed on the occasion of the General Assembly of European Olympic Committees in Marbella by EOC President, Janez Kocijančič; and NOC Lithuania President, Daina Gudzinevičiūtė. The partnership between the Lithuanian NOC and the EOC EU Office is the next step in a successful cooperation that started already some years ago when the NOC of Lithuania contributed to the successful SIGGS Project (“Support the Implementation of Good Governance in Sport”), that the Office was running in 2015-2016.

EOC President Kocijančič said he was pleased with the new partnership and underlined the importance of successful cooperation between all European NOCs with the EOC EU Office in light of a foreseen increase in EU funds for sport programs in the future. NOC President Gudzinevičiūtė expressed her satisfaction with the partnership: “Working more closely with the EOC EU Office is another significant step forward for the National Olympic Committee of Lithuanian. We believe in the benefits of cooperation for both organisations. For us, this agreement is an opportunity to access more, and more important information, to be central to meaningful European sporting policy, events, and social projects funded by the European Union and yet another opportunity to share our experience.”

Folker Hellmund, Director of the EOC EU Office, warmly welcomed the NOC Lithuania becoming an official partner. “I’m very pleased to welcome the NOC Lithuania, as they are a very active NOC at the European and international level. I am absolutely convinced that this partnership will be of mutual benefit to the NOC of Lithuania and to the EOC in many policy areas.” The NOC of Lithuania is the 13th NOC to become an official bilateral partner of the EOC EU Office and the 27th 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 the other partner organisations towards the EU institutions. A full list of the EOC EU Office’s partner network can be found here.