Brussels, 15/10/2004 (Agence Europe) - In Thursday's plenary, European Commissioner Viviane Reding presented the results of the Commission's anti-doping strategy over the last five years, and spoke of the extra resources she would like to make available for continued work against this plague. Ms Reding, who is to hand her Education, Culture and Sport portfolio over to Jan Figel on 1 November, stressed that in recent years, the Commission "had done all it could" to step up the fight against drugs in sport, despite the misgivings of various Member States and of certain sporting organisations. She pointed out that sport is not yet a Community competency (but it will be under the Treaty), which means that the Commission "can only act in full respect" of national competencies.
In order to give full support to Member States' actions, the European Executive adopted a communication in December 1999 which defines a Community support plan to add to the Member States' and sporting bodies' mechanisms in place. The document aims first and foremost to make additional Community instruments available (research, education, training, police and legal cooperation, public health), with an annual budget of 5 million EUR. Viviane Reding also highlighted the work of the "WADA", the World Anti-Doping Agency, which was set up in 1999 and which she "fought" to make into an independent and transparent agency. She regrets that there was never consensus on allowing this organisation Community funding, and she hopes that in the future, the European Union will manage to give it the status of an international company governed by public law. Lastly, the Commission described prevention as a "key term" in European anti-doping policy, stressing the awareness campaigns organised throughout her term of office. Ms Reding also welcomed the fact that sport would take up its well-deserved place in the future treaty, which will help boost European actions in the field of anti-doping. She spoke of her great satisfaction at the ruling returned by the Court of First Instance on 30 September in the "Meca-Medina/Majcen" case, confirming the Commission's stance that the fight against drugs in sport pursues no economic goal and does not come under Competition law, but answers the needs of the sporting federations and their rules and regulations.
Emmanouil Mavrommatic (EPP-ED, Greece) spoke of how easy it is these days for amateur and professional athletes alike to get hold of performance-enhancing drugs, which are harmful to their health. "Fair play, the very basis of sport, has turned into a battle" for victory, he said, concluding: "we must react quickly to identify problems and prepare legislative provisions". Pointing out that "doping is contradictory to the sporting ideal", Greek Socialist Nikolaos Sifunakis, president of the EP's Committee on Education and Culture, stressed the need for coordinated action from the Member States, because the phenomenon is growing exponentially. The fight against it should be based around four axes: 1) taking the "public health" aspect of the problem on board; 2) creating a legal framework; 3) encouraging sport through education; 4) correct labelling of products containing anabolic steroids. He pointed out that the EP was to organise a major public hearing on the fight against sport and the trade in performance-enhancing drugs in November 2005. Hannu Takkula (ALDE, Finland) stressed the need to draw up international treaties, born of close cooperation between countries. In the meantime, the Member States must take on their responsibilities and make sure that those who trade in illegal products are punished, in concert with "WADA". "We must promote the image of sport as clean", he said. French Green Jean-Luc Bennahmias raised the "medicalisation" element of the problem: the medical world must become involved in the fight, he said, adding that "it will take time to bring in a genuine public health policy". Roberta Angelilli (UEN, Italy) said that doping was "an evil which affects every sport", "which is constantly progressing", and which "is not being taken seriously enough". She feels that the Commission should ask itself if the policy it has applied to date comes out with a "positive balance sheet" or whether it should "be reviewed from the bottom-up". She also asked the Commission "if it should not commit to pay for more effective awareness and prevention campaigns". Slovakian independent MEP Irena Belohorska said that clearer boundaries should be drawn up between banned and authorised substances, working together with the Health and Interior Ministers. Lastly, Dimitrios Papadimoulis (GUE/NGL) said that "we have already done much, but it's not enough (…). The EP and the Commission must do more".