Consisting of 18 members, the informal group meet twice a year before major international meetings, enabling them to discuss topics of common interest.

The meetings are also designed to allow for a common position and strategy to be discussed by chairs and general secretaries of the NOCs present.

Representatives from Austria, Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Macedonia, Montenegro, Moldova, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland and Turkey joined their hosts for the meeting in Bucharest.

”This is an informal event of the Central and Southeast European Olympic Committees, we are a working group that will discuss the latest aspects related to Rio,” COSR President Alin Petrache told nineoclock.ro.

“We are highly concerned with news coming in every day and statements from that area, we are concerned with the security of our athletes and many other aspects that are already known.

“We will also talk about the qualified athletes, the training matches we could jointly organise, common training sessions and many other subjects.”

Petrache also revealed that the COSR expect around 70 to 80 athletes to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games later this year, with a target of six to seven medals set.

Gymnastics, boxing, canoeing, fencing and wrestling were earmarked as the country’s likeliest chance of success at the Games.

Romania finished with nine medals at the London 2012 Olympic Games, with Sandra Izbașa winning gold in the women’s vault.

Shooter Alin Moldoveanu triumphed in the men’s 10 metre air rifle to earn the country’s second gold of the Games.