The European Olympic Committees has reported a small surplus for 2020, a year affected by COVID-19 ©Getty Images

The European Olympic Committees (EOC) has reported a small surplus of just over €300,000 (£257,000/$364,000) for the COVID-scarred year of 2020.

The body, whose head office is in Rome and which is subject to Italian law, posted revenue of €11.1 million (£9.5 million/$13.5 million) while running up expenditure of €10.74 million (£9.2 million/$13 million).

Around €7.9 million (£6.8 million/$9.6 million), or 71 per cent, of revenue came from Olympic Solidarity, with a further €2.44 million (£2.1 million/$2.8 million) attributed to Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) recovery funds.

The EOC explained that, as a result of the pandemic, and using funds remaining from past Olympic Solidarity budgets, ANOC created a fund called the "ANOC support grant for European NOCs."

This was said to have provided an additional budget of $2.8 million (£2 million/€2.44 million) with which to compensate European NOCs for extra costs related to the postponement of Tokyo 2020 and other consequences of COVID-19.

The EOC’s year-end equity amounted to €7 million (£6 million/$8.5 million).

This includes a €5.5 million (£4.7 million/$6.7 million) European Games dedicated reserve.

European National Olympic Committees have been stretched to near
European National Olympic Committees have been stretched to near "breaking point" because of the postponement of Tokyo 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic ©Getty Images

The next edition of this quadrennial event is earmarked for Poland in late-June 2023.

While the EOC’s functional currency is the euro, most revenue and distributions to National Olympic Committees (NOCs) are in US dollars.

The EOC explained that it "provides an annual lump sum of $125,000 (£88,500/€103,000) to each NOC."

Even so, it said the COVID-enforced postponement of Tokyo 2020 had “added to the political and financial crises that affected many NOCs in the years before”.

It had also "taxed the ability of the NOCs of Europe to perform their duties and has stretched many almost to breaking point, causing untold disruption for athletes aspiring to compete at Tokyo 2020”.

The 2020 financial statements were said to be the first prepared "in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards for Small and Medium-Sized Entities."

The EOC also disclosed that its 2021-2024 agreement with Olympic Solidarity was signed "in the first months" of 2021 and an advance payment of $8.63 million (£6.1 million/€7.1 million) received.