EU ultimatum over new sports doping watchdog

Date: 22/04/1999

By Peter Chapman

GERMANY is set to issue a final warning to the organisers of the Olympic Games to act on EU concerns about a new body being set up to police doping, or risk losing Union support for the venture.

The move follows February's statement by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announcing plans to create a new watchdog to clean up the drugs-tarnished image of all sports - not just those included in the four-yearly Olympic Games. The EU has expressed worries about the independence and the remit of the planned organisation.

The IOC is due to hold a high-level meeting in Switzerland on 3 May to outline progress on setting up the new body.

An official from Acting Sports Commissioner Marcelino Oreja's Directorate-General for television, sport and culture (DGX) said the German presidency would deliver a warning from the Union that the body must be totally free of the political interference and corruption which has riddled the recent history of the IOC.

He said that the EU supported the general mission of the drugs watchdog, which would be to oversee lists of banned substances, administer tests outside competitions and manage research into doping issues. But he added: "The EU's reservations are that the agency should be technical, with no legislative competence. To secure this independence, it should be composed of both non-governmental and governmental organisations."

He also insisted that the director of the body should be selected by its board rather than by the IOC, underlining concerns voiced by the European Commission following the committee's February meeting.

The IOC could press ahead with its anti-doping strategy without the support of the Union. But experts believe the loss of EU backing would be another blow to the credibility of the organisation.

The Commission expert said the institution would report back to EU sports ministers on the results of the IOC meeting at a June get-together in Padderborn, Germany.

The Olympics showdown is part of a frantic round of sports policy initiatives planned over the next two months.

The Commission is planning a show-piece conference bringing together sports policy-makers, organisations and industry in Olympia, Greece - the birthplace of the Olympic Games - from 20-23 May.

Delegates at the event will debate key issues in the sports sector including doping and the implications for the EU of the collective selling of television rights, an area tackled earlier this year by Acting Competition Commissioner Karel van Miert.

The results of the Olympia meeting will be discussed at the Padderborn ministerial gathering. They will also feed into a Commission policy paper on sport destined for the Helsinki EU summit in December.