The European microstates or European ministates are a set of very small sovereign states in Europe. The term is typically used to refer to the six smallest states in Europe by area: Andorra, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City. Four of these states are monarchies. These states trace their status back to the first millennium or the early second millennium except for Liechtenstein, created in the 17th century.
The Games of the Small States of Europe (GSSE) is a biennial multi-sport event, launched by the Republic of San Marino, organized by and featuring the National Olympic Committees of nine European small states since 1985. The Games are held at the end of May or beginning of June and feature competition in nine Summer Olympic sports.
There are a number of microstates in Europe. While there is no clear consensus on which political units qualify as "microstates", most scholars view Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican City as examples of such states. At the same time, some academics dispute even qualifying Vatican as a true state arguing that it does not meet the "traditional criteria of statehood" and that the "special status of the Vatican City is probably best regarded as a means of ensuring that the Pope can freely exercise his spiritual functions, and in this respect is loosely analogous to that of the headquarters of international organisations." According to the qualitative definition of microstates suggested by Dumienski (2014), microstates can also be viewed as "modern protected states, i.e. sovereign states that have been able to unilaterally depute certain attributes of sovereignty to larger powers in exchange for benign protection of their political and economic viability against their geographic or demographic constraints." And indeed, all of the European microstates are sovereign states that function in a close association with their respective larger neighbour. Currently, all of the European microstates have some form of relations with the European Union (EU).
The 2005 Games of the Small States of Europe, or the XIth Games of the Small States of Europe, were held in Andorra la Vella, Andorra from May 30 to June 4, 2005. Andorra la Vella previously hosted the games in 1991. Administration of the games was done jointly by the Andorran government and the Andorran Olympic Committee. Joan Enric Vives Sicília, one of the Co-Princes of Andorra, declared the games open on May 30.
The 2003 Games of the Small States of Europe, or the Xth Games of the Small States of Europe, were held in Valletta, Malta from June 2 to June 7, 2003. Valletta previously hosted the games in 1993. Malta was not due to host the Games again until 2009, but a strong bid helped them to gain the games six years early. Administration of the games was done jointly by the Maltese Ministry of Education and the Malta Olympic Committee. The games were declared open by President Guido de Marco on June 2.
The 2009 Games of the Small States of Europe, also known as the XIIIth Games of the Small States of Europe were held in June 2009 among the participant nations in the Games of the Small States of Europe. The opening ceremonies were on June 1, and the closing ceremonies on June 6. The games were held in Cyprus, twenty years after the first Games held there in 1989. Malta was scheduled for 2009 in the rotation, but were selected to host the games early in 2003. The organizing committee estimates the cost at 1.5 million euros for all events.
The 14th Games of the Small States of Europe, also known as the XIVth Games of the Small States of Europe were held between 30 May – 4 June 2011 in multiple municipalities in Liechtenstein. The Games featured competition by the 9 members of the GSSE in nine sports, with three of the sports featuring seven disciplines. Events were located in nine different municipalities in the country.
The 2007 Games of the Small States of Europe, or the XIIth Games of the Small States of Europe, were held in Monaco from 4 June to 9 June 2007. The Games administration was done jointly by the Monegasque government and Monegasque Olympic Committee. Monaco has previously hosted the games in 1987. Prince Albert II officially opened the Games.
The 2013 Games of the Small States of Europe, also known as the XV Games of the Small States of Europe, were held in Luxembourg City and surrounding areas. The slogan, as well as the logo, was "Are you ready for the Games?" The opening ceremony was held at the Stade Josy Barthel on 27 May; the closing ceremony was held at the Neumünster Abbey on 1 June.
The 2015 Games of the Small States of Europe, also known as the XVI Games of the Small States of Europe, were held in Iceland. The slogan was "Natural Power". Icelandic singer Paul Oscar sang during the opening ceremony.
The Andorra national basketball team is the national team of Andorra. The national team has always represented in the EuroBasket Division C. It also takes part well in Games of the Small States of Europe.
The 2016 European Athletics Championships was held in Amsterdam, Netherlands, between 6 and 10 July 2016. It was the first time the Netherlands hosted the event.
The 2017 Games of the Small States of Europe, also known as the XVII Games of the Small States of Europe, took place in San Marino from 29 May to 3 June 2017.
Basketball at the 2017 Games of the Small States of Europe was held from 30 May to 3 June 2017.
The 2017 European Athletics U20 Championships were the 24th edition of the biennial European U20 athletics championships. They were held in Grosseto, Italy from 20 July to 23 July.
The 2021 Games of the Small States of Europe, also known as the XIX Games of the Small States of Europe, is a cancelled sporting event, previously scheduled to take place in Andorra la Vella, the capital city of Andorra. Andorra has previously held the 1991 and the 2005 installments of the Games. The 2021 games were cancelled due to the rescheduling of the 2020 Summer Olympics in July 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Andorra looking to instead host the 2025 games.
The 2019 European Athletics U23 Championships was the 12th edition of the biennial athletics competition between European athletes under the age of twenty-three. It was held in Gävle, Sweden from 11 to 14 July.
The Championships of the Small States of Europe (CSSE) is a biennial competition in outdoor track and field organised by the Athletic Association of Small States of Europe (AASE). First held in 2016, the competition is held on alternate years with the Games of the Small States of Europe.
The 2023 European Athletics Team Championships (ETC) in athletics will be held in one city, in June 2023.
The 2021 European Athletics U20 Championships is the 26th edition of the biennial European U20 athletics championships. They were held in Tallinn, Estonia from 15 July to 18 July. The 2021 European Athletics U23 Championships have been held in the same venue one week earlier, after Bergen renounced.
