REPORT ON ERCO ANNUAL MEETING 2006

(18 NOVEMBER, 2006 – LJUBLJANA/ SLOVENIA)

Due to a still unknown reason for the cancellation of the Azerbaijan CISM Delegation’s hosting the 4th annual ERCO meeting for the second time in the history of our sports activities, the annual meeting was held in Ljubljana-Slovenia during the continental meeting between the dates of 16-20 November 2006 after the 3rd annual regional meeting took place in Predeal –Romania in 2005. It was the fourth annual meeting of the region covering Balkan, Black Sea and Caucasus CISM member countries. To this meeting of the region, Albania, FYRO Macedonia, Poland (observer), Romania, Serbia, Turkey participated. Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece (invited nation), Ukraine were absent.

CISM Secretary General, European Vice President and one of the 3 CISM BoD members from Europe were also present at the meeting as honor guests.

According to the agenda of the meeting, the following issues were discussed and taken under decision.

After roll call, new members (Albanian and Serbian Chiefs of Delegation) were introduced to the participants and the accomplishments and goals of ERCO were introduced and third annual meeting report was approved and the ERCO Strategic Plan was discussed and updated. ERCO BP was decided to be prepared.

According to the updated ERCO SP, it was decided;

-  To support the establishment of the Regional Development Center covering Balkan, Black Sea and Caucasus regions,

-  To collect data from the nations for a better management evaluation system,

-  To strengthen the regional status of ERCO that should be more functional in the region. In this framework, it had been proposed by ERCO members in 2005 to include and add “Regional Offices” in the CISM Regulations. This issue was brought to the attention of the 3rd CISM BoD Members Meeting in 2005 and the suggestion by the Vice President for Europe is that functioning as a Regional office as a member to this office pended recognition in the CISM Regulations doesn’t need the approval of CISM BoD and the CISM General Assembly because of the non-official structure of such entities in the continent of Europe and therefore Regional Offices should  continue their functions as it was before through determining a fixed agenda and taking the chairmanship of each annual meeting in turns.Vice President for Europe was also asked for his support to contact with the Asian CISM Vice President to inform those CISM nations in the continent of Asia to join ERCO sports activities if they are willing to do so.

-  In order ro gain visibility and more collaboration in our sports activities, it was decided that the establishment of a RDC in our region like in the other continents should be proposed to the CISM General Secretariat by following the guidelines of the establishment of regional development centers according to the levels of responsibilities prepared by the CISM President in 2004. 

-  To provide more cooperation between delegations and National Sports Federations. For this purpose, the proposal deadline to establish and host the Balkan, Black Sea and Caucasus Military Sports Federation which is one of the action items in the ERCO SP was prolonged till the end of the next years’ meeting in 2007. In the case that there are no proposals of candidates that will represent those three sub regions, this SP item will be deleted.

-  To take the attention of inactive nations and try to obtain new members to  CISM in the region in order to increase the number of the CISM member nations. Within this perspective each ERCO Member nation should do her best to take the attention of her neighboring non member or inactive nation by sending invitations to the activities they plan in the future.

-  To promote women participation on the regional.

-  To implement a new championship program as of 1st February 2008.

-  To have and decide ERCO written Regulations that will manage our non official structure was proposed by the Romanian Delegation to CISM.

-  The activities in regional calendars for 2007 were updated.

-  Major Mihai LUPESCU from Romanian Delegation to CISM was elected as the ERCO deputy-secretary.

-  It was reminded to the participants and organizers that the annual ERCO meeting should be held every year in the month of April, before the General Assembly of that year and in the month prior to the MWG once in every four years. Therefore the next meeting of the region was offered to the Serbian Delegation to CISM and the official reply should be obtained until after General Assembly in Quagadougua in May 2007.

-  And finally in order to develop our communication policy towards sports on a regional level, the efforts of the Turkish Delegation to CISM to prepare the ERCO website (http://www.biliweb.com/erco) covering the region was decided to be completed by the end of the year and linked with the new web site(http://www.cism-europe-milsport.org) that is going to be managed by the European LO where ERCO is subordinated to.

            CONCLUSION:

The 4th annual meeting of the Balkan, Black Sea and Caucasus regions was a success and beneficial in terms of CISM’s non official structures coordinating the sports activities among the CISM Member Nations in the continent of Europe.

This concludes our report.                                     

18 November 2006, Ljubljana