Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on a "Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on a Community Support Plan to Combat Doping in Sport"

(2000/C 317/20)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on a Community Support Plan to Combat Doping in Sport (COM(1999) 643 final);

having regard to the decision of the Commission on 6 December 1999, under the first paragraph of Article 265 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, to consult the Committee of the Regions on this matter;

having regard to the decision taken by the President of the Committee of the Regions on 29 February 2000 to instruct Commission 7 "Education, Vocational Training, Culture, Youth, Sport and Citizens' Rights" to draw up the relevant Opinion;

having regard to the Report from the Commission to the European Council with a view to safeguarding current sports structures and maintaining the social function of sport within the Community framework - The Helsinki Report on Sport (COM(1999) 644 final);

having regard to its Opinion of 16 September 1999 on The European Model of Sport (CdR 37/99 fin)(1);

having regard to its Opinion of 18 November 1999 on Local and regional cooperation to protect children and young people from abuse and neglect in the EU (CdR 225/99 fin)(2);

having regard to the draft opinion adopted by Commission 7 on 5 May 2000 (CdR 22/2000 rev. 2) (rapporteur: Mr Murray IRL/EA).

WHEREAS

sport is a vector for personal fulfilment, a key element for the individual's physical and mental balance, a major cultural area, a powerful education tool and a factor for socialisation and brings together the citizens of the European Union;

whereas the problem of doping in sport and the campaign against doping raise the issue of the very concept of sport, of an ethic which is the cornerstone of the European Union's decision to have its values and model for sport respected in the drive to build a Europe based on peace, progress and solidarity;

the Vienna European Council 1998 expressed its concern with the scale of doping in sport and the need for action at EU level;

there is a particular onus on the European Union to take responsibility in the war on doping since the majority of major sports events in the world take place in the EU;

whereas the 15 EU ministers for sport called, in June 1999, on the Commission and the European Council to strengthen their efforts to stamp out and prevent doping;

in many Member States local and regional authorities have responsibility for promoting sport, as well as, education and public health policies which are related to the field of sport,

unanimously adopted the following opinion at its 34th plenary session of 14 and 15 June 2000 (meeting of 15 June).

1. The Committee of the Regions' position and recommendations

1.1. The Committee of the Regions welcomes the Commission's communication for a Community support plan to combat doping in sport as it addresses many of the concerns which the Committee has raised in previous opinions.

1.2. Given the complexity of the issue the Committee agrees with the approach adopted by the Commission and would encourage all parties to undertake their shared responsibility in the fight against doping in sport. The Committee therefore considers that priority should be given in the fight against doping:

- to preventative programmes, education and support programmes for everybody with responsibility for sportsmen, trainers, instructors, coaches, teachers of physical education and sports teachers, but also sports doctors, health professionals, federal organisers, club leaders, sponsors and the media;

- to research measures to combat improper use of pharmacological advances and to improve detection methods.

1.3. The Committee of the Regions recognises the role that local and regional authorities can play in prevention and the fight against doping in sport, especially in the fields of public health, education and policies for young people and in the promotion of sport.

1.4. The Committee is concerned that there continues to be no specific legislation in many Member States dealing with doping in sport and would urge that Member States address this in order to help tackle the doping in sport problem comprehensively and also to ensure equity and freedom of movement for sports persons.

As a first step the Committee urges all Member States to ratify the Council of Europe's Anti-Doping Convention.

1.5. The Committee regrets that in the absence of a suitable regulatory framework at EU level, appropriate sanctions for sports persons, but as importantly the suppliers of banned substances and doping expertise, are difficult to apply.

1.6. However, the Committee is also of the opinion that, quite apart from the responsibility of others and the rights of sports persons to safety and health, there is a moral obligation and responsibility on sports persons themselves to adopt fair play, responsibility and self-control in participating in sport.

The Committee believes that sports persons have moral and legal obligations not to be involved in doping practices and these responsibilities form an essential ingredient in the fight against doping. The Committee does nonetheless recognise that many sports people are in a vulnerable position especially young people involved in sport and are in need of protection. There is a need for proper legislative machinery to safeguard sportspersons, so as to avoid the possibility of them being put under any pressure whatsoever by sports companies to which they have a commitment connected with their sport.

1.7. The Committee is of the opinion that in the absence of any reference to sport in the Treaty there is a need for a new partnership between the European Institutions, the Member States, sports organisations and other public bodies to promote the development of sport founded on an agreed code of ethics, equity and fair play, while preserving its integrity and independence.

2. European Group on Ethics

2.1. The Committee endorses the opinion of the European Group on Ethics (EGE) on doping in sport. In particular it welcomes the EGE's proposed definition of doping which is both clear and comprehensive.

2.2. The Committee also welcomes many of the measures proposed by the EGE for further action and urges the Commission, Member States and sports federations to advance these as a matter of urgency.

In particular the Committee would welcome a reference to doping in sports person's contracts and the fact that it is banned.

The Committee would also welcome a code of practice for sport to which all parties could agree. The Committee considers that such a code would outline the dangers of doping, emphasise the duty of care of clubs and federations, define the obligations of coaches, advisors and athletes, refer to penalties for breach of the code and provide for a hierarchy for implementation at the various levels.

3. The World Anti-Doping Agency

3.1. The Committee of the Regions welcomes the establishment of the World Anti-Doping Agency as an independent and transparent international anti-doping agency. The Committee recommends that the EU should play a full part in the Agency's work and looks forward to a Commission proposal in this regard.

3.2. The Committee would however underline its desire that this agency be independent, seen to be independent, accountable and transparent in its operation. The COR also considers that this Agency should cover all sports other than those affiliated to the International Olympic Committee.

3.3. The Committee notes that the decisions of the Agency will only have the status of recommendations under Community Law and accordingly the Committee would endorse all parties to accept a moral commitment to comply with the recommendations even though not legally obliged to do so.

3.4. The Committee accepts that there is no legislative measure for the listing of banned substances in the EU and has some sympathy with the opinion expressed by the EGE in relation to the pitfalls of drawing up such a list. However, the Committee considers that, in the interests of health, consumer protection and equity, an interim list of banned substances should be drawn up and agreed by Member States to provides sports people with a useful guide. This would be superseded by the list drawn up by the Agency at a later date.

3.5. As part of the remit of the World Anti-Doping Agency the Committee would support an increase in the level of unannounced out-of-competition checks for doping.

4. Making the most of Community Instruments

4.1. The Committee welcomes the better coordination of regulatory measures and the mobilisation of Community programmes that can support anti-doping measures. The Committee hopes that it will give the fight on doping in sport a coherence although without a specific framework at EU level, the COR believes that this maybe difficult to achieve.

4.2. The Committee strongly supports the use of measures under the Fifth Framework Programme to intensify research into doping substances, detection methods, and the long-term health effects of doping.

The Committee would strongly support action that would help provide laboratories and the anti-doping bodies with a suitable regulatory and normative framework that could be recognised and used by the police and courts systems of the Member States.

4.3. The Committee recognises that the war on doping in sport also calls for closer cooperation between the police, customs authorities and judicial systems across the EU. However, the Committee is aware of the difficulty in implementing specific anti-doping measures given that the substances used in doping are in most cases legal in a non-sporting environment. The Committee would therefore welcome measures to promote training and exchange of information between police and customs forces.

4.4. The Committee welcomes proposals to reinforce medicaments information but is also concerned by the increasing use of food supplements by athletes. Some of these supplements contain doping substances or contain substances that cause chemical reactions which could result in doping. Under Article 153 of the Treaty the Committee calls on the Commission to ensure proper labelling of such supplements in order to protect the consumer's health, safety and economic interests and to promote their right of information and education.

4.5. The Committee is aware of the need for a more comprehensive system of medical supervision for sports people. Such medical supervision has to be regarded as a vital protection against the health consequences of using prohibited products and indulging in sport in an uncontrolled way. The Committee believes that this would assist in changing the emphasis of sports medicine away from the search for ever-higher performance.

The voluntary involvement of national medical associations should also be sought to assist in the campaign against doping and to establish an ethical code of best practice for medical staff involved in specialist medical advice in sport. The Committee of the Regions suggests that medical listening posts be set up in each European region to provide information about prevention and the risks of doping, with the job of helping, taking care of and providing guidance for sportspersons in difficulty. The Committee of the Regions also suggests that the European Union set up a free, international, confidential and anonymous "Doping help line" where sports psychologists bound by professional secrecy under national laws would direct victims of doping towards a network of doctors and specialists.

4.6. The Committee also welcomes the Commission's intention under Article 152 of the Treaty to put forward a proposal for a Council recommendation on the prevention of doping in sport, especially amateur sport. However, the Committee considers that as well as the prevention of doping the recommendation should also provide for the proper treatment of sportspeople already addicted to doping substances, which currently is somewhat neglected.

4.7. The Committee is supportive of the use of existing and future community youth action programmes, such as Socrates, Leonardo and Youth, with which an anti-doping dimension can be integrated to provide information, training, awareness raising and prevention in relation to doping. However, it is concerned that the budgets of these programmes are already under strain.

4.8. The contribution of such programmes is important but not adequate for the scale of the problem. Accordingly, the Committee urges that the proposed information and awareness raising campaign to be targeted at all sports persons by the Directorate-General for Education & Culture should proceed as an immediate measure and fully include local and regional authorities in the implementation process, as they may be useful channels for reaching young people not only in a sporting but also in an educational context.

4.9. The Committee believes that, given the cost of implementing effective anti-doping programmes and the lack of sufficient resources, consideration should be given to examining the possibility of modest percentages of the money poured into sport by commercial interests or broadcasting rights deals being diverted for use in doping prevention and information campaigns. The Committee considers that this would assist supplementing public authority funding. In this regard the Committee would welcome measures to encourage sponsors and commercial interests to play an integral part in the fight against doping and ensure that these interests have a positive and preventative role.

5. The Role of Local and Regional Authorities

5.1. The Committee of the Regions underlines the role that local and regional authorities can and will play in realising the objectives of the Community support plan.

5.2. Given the existing role of local and regional authorities in the promotion of sport and the provision of facilities and financial support for sporting activities, they have a moral duty of care to participants in such activities to ensure public health is safe guarded and to educate youth participants and sector managers on best practice, without incurring any additional financial burdens. The COR would welcome support for local and regional authorities to ensure:

- proper recruitment and selection procedures are adopted for coaches and sports staff, especially people who have responsibility for young people;

- proper training of staff working with sports persons and young people in sport;

- partnerships with other authorities to record those involved in doping practices and sharing of such information;

- sharing of information on best practice and cooperation programmes;

- a fruitful collaborative relationship with doctors - not just specialists in sports medicine but also general practitioners - working at local and regional level.

- Support for the policies pursued by local and regional authorities seems all the more important as they have the capacity to use sport as a means of social integration.

5.3. The Committee highlights the responsibility that local and regional authorities have for education and public health and considers that they are well placed to support education and awareness raising campaigns in relation to doping in sport aimed at schools, sports clubs, youth leaders, sport persons and other involved in sport.

5.4. The Committee also considers that local and regional authorities would, because of their competencies in the fields of education, personnel recruitment, training and public health, be well placed to promote the adoption of codes of best practice by clubs and federations on such important issues as recruitment and training procedures for coaches and trainers in order to raise standards.

Brussels, 15 June 2000.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Jos Chabert

(1) OJ C 374, 23.12.1999, p. 56.

(2) OJ C 57, 29.2.2000, p. 46.