Luxembourg, 09/04/2001 (Agence Europe) - At a press conference in Luxembourg on 4 April organised by the Seat Open Tennis Championship, where an information séance was organised with the support of the EU on the dangers of doping, the Sports Commissioner, Viviane Reding, called on the sports world and the Member States involved in it to make the World Antidoping Agency (WAA) operational as soon as possible. Ms Reding will be presenting a draft Decision on the EU's financial participation in WAA to the Commission in the next few weeks. This should make the EU the first public authority to take a concrete decision to provide WAA with the funding it needs. Ms Reding said that she did not want to see a bureaucratic WAA, but an Agency present in the field and capable of permanently keeping up with new doping trends. The EU's contribution to the WAA is expected to be slightly more than Euro 14 million for 2002-2006. The Commission is also planning to fund several WAA projects in 2001, including a project to train independent observers to work for the Agency and a feasibility study on a passport for athletes.