In a revision of a 2019 resolution, presented to national delegations on Monday 24 April, the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU proposes to clarify the rules on the representation of Member States on the Foundation Board of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) (see EUROPE 13094/20).
Indeed, three seats are reserved for Member State representatives on the WADA Board, appointed for 3 years. This position allows them to participate in the adoption of the Agency’s rules or guidelines. While “the working methods and practices of WADA have evolved”, Sweden wants to “give clearer guidance on the criteria and the duration of the mandates”.
WADA Statutes
To be eligible for the title, representatives must be Ministers of Sport. The revision proposed by Stockholm further specifies that they should be “eligible to sit on the Foundation Board in accordance with the WADA’s statutes”. These statutes provide, among other things, that the countries of the representatives adhere to the UNESCO International Anti-Doping Convention and comply with the World Anti-Doping Code. They also stress the need for representatives to be “independent and free from influence in the exercise of their functions”.
Mandates
Furthermore, the Presidency suggests clarifying the rules in case one of the representatives is no longer eligible for the position.
The first two EU seats are allocated to one of the Member States of the current ‘Trio Presidency’ and one of the Member States of the future Trio. If they cease to be eligible, the Member States must appoint their replacements. The Trio can also agree on another EU country. In any case, the replacement will sit here for the remainder of the original three-year term.
The last member - the “expert at governmental level” - is appointed by the EU Council. If he or she is no longer eligible, his or her replacement will be selected by the EU Council and will, in that case, be given a new three-year mandate. Experts will be able to serve a maximum of three terms (compared to two in the 2019 resolution).
The text: https://aeur.eu/f/6kv (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)