COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL - Concerning the Commission's participation in the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and its funding

1. Introduction

In the conclusions of the Vienna European Council of 11-12 December 1998, the European Council underlined "its concern at the extent and seriousness of doping in sport which undermines the sporting ethic and endangers public health." This followed in the wake of the doping scandals which had shaken public opinion in 1998, particularly during the Tour de France.

The European Council emphasised the need for mobilisation at European level and invited the Member States to examine jointly with the Commission and international sports bodies "possible measures to intensify the fight against this danger".

One of the first responses to this invitation was the active participation of the Member States and the European Commission in the World Anti-Doping Conference organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in February 1999 in Lausanne. The most significant outcome of this conference was the creation of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The Member States and the European Commission also played an active role in the creation of this Agency.

It was decided in Lausanne that to guarantee the independence and transparency of this new Agency the principle of partnership between the Olympic movement and the public authorities would be applied, particularly as regards the running and the funding of the WADA. The Member States and the Commission negotiated a two-year transitional period, to end on 1 January 2002, during which the public authorities were under no obligation to contribute to the funding of the Agency and the body would be wholly financed by the IOC. The Member States and the Commission also asked and obtained that the new Agency's annual budget be adopted by unanimity of the members of the Foundation Board. Subject to these two conditions, the IOC lodged the statutes of the WADA on 10 November 1999.

Considering that arrangements should be made for its Member States' and the European Community's roles in the WADA, the Council on 4 December 2000 adopted conclusions [1] on combating doping, in which in particular it:

[1] OJ C 356 of 12.12.2000, p. 1

- established that the participation of the Community and of its Member States in the WADA's Foundation Board would be ensured by the President-in-Office of the Council and by a member of the Commission and

- noted that any Community expenditure on WADA activities would be decided on the basis of the Interinstitutional Agreement on budgetary discipline [2]; any significant Community expenditure will require the adoption, following a proposal from the Commission, of a measure with an appropriate legal basis.

[2] OJ C 172 of 18.06.1999, p. 1

The purpose of this communication is to inform the Council how the Commission has implemented these conclusions, particularly with regard to representation and funding, and to examine the future prospects for relations between the Community and the Agency.

2. Commission action

Following the adoption on these conclusions, the Commission embarked upon two complementary courses of action:

- firstly, it appointed Mrs Viviane REDING as the Member of the Commission to represent the Commission on the WADA's Foundation Board;

- secondly, it began preparatory work on a proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the funding of the Agency's operating budget.

3. Funding arrangements

As pointed out in 1, the initial statutes of the WADA stipulated unanimity of the Foundation Board for the adoption of the budget. Be that as it may, by a decision adopted at the Foundation Board's first meeting on 13 January 2000, an amendment to the statutes of the WADA replaced the rule of unanimity for adoption of the budget by that of adoption by two-thirds majority. The Commission, representing the Community, was powerless to oppose this change of statutes insofar as it had only observer status within the WADA.

In the wake of this change, the Commission informed the WADA that in order to safeguard the prerogatives of the budgetary authority two essential conditions had to be met before a proposal on Community funding of the WADA could be submitted. Specifically these were:

- the establishment of clear five-year budget forecasts,

- and the amendment of the WADA's statutes in order to avoid the Community having binding budgetary decisions imposed upon it without its consent.

4. Negotiations with the WADA

The Commission has repeatedly reminded the WADA of these two conditions which are necessary to safeguard the prerogatives of the budgetary authority. Upon taking up her role within the WADA's Foundation Board on 21 August 2001, Mrs Reding informed the Chairman of the Agency, Mr Pound, of the need to consider these requirements, respect of which was the precondition for the Commission's submitting a proposal for Community funding of the WADA.

This was discussed at the WADA Foundation Board meeting in Lausanne on 3 December 2001. It emerged, as moreover was observed by the WADA Chairman [3] that the Community budget rules and those of the Agency could not be reconciled.

[3] The Chairman of the Agency, Mr POUND, on 11 December 2001 wrote a letter to Mrs REDING in which he concluded that "It would appear that, with the best will in the world, the Community model simply does not fit in at the WADA".

The situation stood as follows:

- the WADA would not amend its statutes to allow budget decisions to be taken by unanimity (which meant that budgetary constraints might be imposed on the Community against its will and without the prior agreement of the budgetary authority),

- the Chairman of the Agency could not go beyond an verbal promise on the budget ceilings not to be exceeded for the five years ahead. Yet the Foundation Board can amend them annually by a two-thirds majority vote.

5. Conclusion

Given the circumstances the Commission representative would not have been in a position to safeguard the budgetary prerogatives of the Community within the WADA. This situation prompted Mrs REDING to abstain from the vote on the Agency's budget for 2002 and to announce that no proposal could be submitted for a decision on the funding of the Agency, and she informed the Commission accordingly on 5 December 2001 [4].

[4] (PV (2001)1547) of 5 December 2001, (SEC (2001) 1976).

On the subject of representation, it should be pointed out that Article 6 of the statutes of the Agency subordinates participation in the WADA Foundation Board to the payment of a contribution to the budget. As it is not possible to make such a payment, the Commission, representing the Community, therefore decided to:

- annul the appointment of Mrs REDING as the member of the Commission representing the Community in the WADA Foundation Board and

- inform the Council of the European Union of the action taken and the decisions adopted.