Portuguese official Moura addressed the Congress at the Holiday Inn Westpark Hotel in his capacity as Acting President, which he has held since March following the decision of Igor Levitin to "self-suspend" himself.

Russian official Levitin was elected as ETTU President unopposed in September 2020, having previously held several roles within his country's Government.

He has been a Presidential aide to Vladimir Putin since 2013.

His self-suspension followed the decision of the ETTU Executive Board to prevent Russian and Belarusian players and officials from competing at its events, which has meant they are not present for the ongoing European Championships in Munich.

This measure is in line with the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and Moura told delegates at the Congress that while it was difficult to prevent athletes from competing, it is necessary in light of the war in Ukraine.

"These were not easy decisions," Moura acknowleged.

"Any decision that stops an athlete from being able to compete cannot be taken lightly.

"But we agreed that it was the best course to take in order to protect the athletes and ensure the integrity of our ETTU competitions.

"It also showed our support for Ukraine athletes, something we have maintained to this day and that we have committed to for the rest of this year and next year."

The IOC has not recommended measures for governing bodies to take against Russian and Belarusian elected officials, with Russian IOC members retaining their posts.

This has led to variations in approaches across different sports.

Russian officials Umar Kremlev and Vladimir Lisin remain as Presidents of the International Boxing Association and International Shooting Sport Federation respectively.

Uzbek-born Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov opted to "suspend the exercise of my duties as President of the International Fencing Federation after being hit by European Union sanctions, while Russian Olympic Committee President Stanislav Pozdnyakov was removed as European Fencing Confederation President at an Extraordinary Congress.

Moura, who took charge of the ETTU having previously been its Deputy President, also encouraged National Federations to donate towards fundraising efforts to assist with Ukrainian participation at its events.

"I wish to give a special warm welcome to Ukraine Table Tennis Federation President Alexander Zats," he said.

"Thank you for being here with us.

"As you know, we have set up a crowdfunding campaign to raise much needed funds which will allow Ukrainian athletes to continue to compete at events this year and in 2023.

"I hope you will all be able to make a donation to this worthy cause and doing so help our beloved sport to survive in this important European table tennis country - Ukraine."

The Acting President admitted that it had been a challenging period since he took over on a temporary basis, but insisted that he had the full support of the ETTU Executive Board.

"I do so in my capacity as Acting ETTU President. but I stand here representing the whole ETTU Executive Board," Moura said.

"We are one team and we have been working hard together over the last five months to ensure we continue to take our sport forward in difficult circumstances."

Moura reflected on how the ETTU had ran its competitions since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, claiming that the continental body had "delivered the complete package of our ETTU events in a remarkable and eminently successful fashion" as well as all of its development programme activities in 2021 and 2022.

Table tennis was added to the multi-sport European Championships programme in Munich having not been a part of the 2018 edition in Glasgow and Berlin.

Moura said that this was "further evidence of table tennis as one of the most popular sports in Europe."

The launch of a new European Under-13 Championships was announced for 2023 at the Congress, and Moura said that plans were in place to develop a "balanced but ambitious budget which will match our ambitions for our sport" for next year.

An Executive Board proposal to add a round of 16 to team events at the European Championships was approved by the Congress.

International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) President Petra Sörling, elected in November last year following a bitter dispute with German predecessor Thomas Weikert, attended the Congress and provided a reflective message.

"We have the war in Europe and the pandemic is still present in the world," the Swedish official said.

"These challenging moments reflect on all segments of our sport but one of the ITTF pillars, the unity, is very strong."

Sorling congratulated the ETTU and Germany on the staging of the European Championships, and pointed to a recent agreement with the German Table Tennis Association (DTTU).

In November 2020, the DTTU had voiced its concerns over the "degree of influence and power and freedom of decision" transferred to the ITTF's commercial and event business arm World Table Tennis.

However, in a statement released earlier this week, the DTTB said it "welcomes the ITTF’s efforts to build a tournament series with the development of World Table Tennis", and that it regrets "the sharp tone" of its November 2020 letter as well as the criticism of individuals and failure to give a copy to the ITTF Executive Committee before sending it to all members.

The ITTF and World Table Tennis said they "welcome the above clarification", and "all parties now declare their willingness to resume their constructive cooperation and to end the pending proceedings, with a clear focus on the future."

Sorling added at the ETTU Congress that a frequently asked questions platform would be created to address doubts about the World Team Table Tennis Championships due to be held in the Chinese city of Chengdu from September 30 to October 9 2022.