The board decided the results needed to be addressed after the Hungarian canoeist Bence Dombvari failed a doping test. 

Sprinter Dombvari tested positive for a performance enhancing drug in July 2016. 

Together with Tibor Hufnagel he finished second behind Germany's Max Hoff and Marcus Gross who won the gold medal in the K2M 1000 metre event.

The decision was made as Hungary hosted the final ECA board meeting of 2017 where they also announced that they have awarded the 2020 ECA Junior and under-23 Canoe Sprint European Championships to Austria. 

The visit of canoe sprint technical delegate Elly Müller to the town of Ottensheim and nearby city of Linz appears to have been crucial. 

Ottensheim and Linz have hosted the World Rowing Championships in July 2008 and will do so again in 2019.

The regatta course of Linz-Ottensheim was constructed on an arm of the Danube in early 1972 before a lock and hydro-electric station was built. 

The extension to eight lanes was completed in 2006. Since 1972 international rowing regattas as well as the Austrian Rowing Championships have taken place regularly.

The venue has hosted the World Rowing Junior Championships in 1998, a World Rowing Cup in 2007, the World Rowing Junior and non-Olympic Senior Championships in 2008, the Nations Cup in 1990 and 2001, the 2013 World Rowing Under 23 Championships and the 2018 World Rowing Cup II. 

It was also decided that the ECA would follow the International Canoe Federation’s programme of events at the Canoe Sprint European Championships and would not add or remove some of the events in Junior or under-23 categories. 

The canoeing season has just finished but put plans are already in place for next season to set the dates for the 2018 European Championships.

The ECA’s board received reports from the technical delegates about the European Championships and European Youth Olympic Festival.

It was decided that the 2018 ECA Junior and under-23 Canoe Slalom European Championships and the 2018 ECA Canoe Freestyle European Championships would be staged in Bratislava, Slovakia. 

The 2018 ECA Ocean Racing remains vacant for the moment as the deadline for applications remains open until the end of November.

 Since Minsk will host the 2019 European Games and Canoe Sprint will be part of the programme, the Senior Canoe Sprint European Championships will not be organised in 2019. 

As many as 12 Olympic Canoe sprint events will be part of the European Games. 

With the 2019 ECA Canoe Sprint European Championships not being organised due to the games in Minsk, the idea is to add the Paracanoeing European Championships to the Junior and under-23 Canoe Sprint European Championships which will be held in Račice, in the Czech Republic. 

Another item on the agenda was the bids for IT Support at the ECA Canoe Sprint European Championships. 

A final decision has not yet been made over the three candidates. 

The ECA's board have also been informed about TV rights, media activities, marketing project proposal and development programmes.

Edwin Jakob, newly appointed technical delegate for touring, presented ideas for the future development of touring and recreational canoeing within Europe.

The next ECA Board of Directors meeting will be held in March 2018 in Madrid, Spain.