The much-anticipated flagship event will now incorporate the race for the European marathon title that has previously taken place at the biennial championships.

The event will involve road races taking centre stage at a standalone European Championships and will feature three races over two days - a 10 kilometre, a half marathon and a marathon.

Europe's top distance runners will race alongside the mass entry, bringing the sport's elite and their fans closer than ever before.

Medals will be awarded for individual and team honours at all three distances.

Mass-race participants can also compete for medals in brand-new "country ranking" competition.

The marathon course will start in the centre of the Belgian capital before reaching the finish in the historic heart of Leuven.

A delegation from the Local Organising Committee (LOC) was also on-site for the announcement at the European Athletics Council meeting, including the President of the Royal Belgian Athletics Federation Gery Follens, head of marathons at Golazo Thomas Huyberechts and Geertrui Vanloo from the City of Leuven, all of whom had successfully presented their bid to the European Athletics Council.

"The European Running Championships symbolises my vision of a sport that really is for everyone," said European Athletics President Dobromir Karamarinov.

"Young and old, male and female, fast and slow, big and small, elite and amateur will all compete together and simultaneously in mass marathon, half marathon and 10km races, with global and national ranking places on offer."

Karamarinov added: "For too long, athletics has been seen as a rarefied activity, the preserve of only the super-fit and the super-gifted.

"All children, and a growing number of adults across our continent, take part in athletics, in the form of recreational running, every day.

"Yet many of them do not think of themselves as athletes.

"I am determined to bridge this gap."

European Athletics chief executive Christian Milz said: "This will be a unique championships as every runner will be an athlete and every athlete can be a champion.

"It gives everyone in our sport the chance to experience that unique championships feeling.

"Welcome to the European Running Championships."

In his manifesto before re-election last month, Karamarinov put the proposed European Running Championships top of his list in terms of what he would be offering Member Federations.

Asked why, he told insidethegames: "After the Congress approval, because this is a new idea, 2025 would be the first edition.

"It’s a quite new format, with all the mass racers and elite athletes being together.

"It also brings financial revenue to European Athletics.

"This is something even I think we do it a little bit late.

"But better late than never.

"We have two or three very strong candidates to host the first edition.

"This will be a new opportunity for all runners in Europe and also for the Member Federations.

"Our concept is different to the World Athletics model because we include a marathon and the longest distance in the World Athletics event is the half marathon. 

"I think it will be a very successful new project."

You can read more about the integration of athletics into European Games here.