FP5 funds should contribute to stopping sports cheats, say MEPs
MEPs supported proposals for the EU's Fifth Framework Programme to fund increased research into doping in sport following a debate in the Parliament in Strasbourg on September 7. They also backed a demand in a report by Spanish MEP Theresa Zabel (EPP-ED) for the European Community to sign up to the Council of Europe's Anti Doping Convention and for the EU to participate fully in the activities of the World Anti-Doping Agency. In the debate, Ms Zabel noted that drug taking by sportsmen and women had a long history but action to fight the problem was becoming a priority. As a result of the increased commercialisation of sport and an overcrowded sporting calendar the doping business had grown considerable and it could not be tackled effectively without the cooperation of the law enforcement authorities. While noting the importance of standardising the names of banned substances throughout the Community she warned against concentrating efforts solely on the sportsmen themselves. There was often a presumption that athletes were guilty at the outset but there were others involved and those people supplying the drugs should not escape punishment. Mr Mihail Papayannakis (EUL/NGL, Greece) warned that 'the spectre of doping was hanging over the Olympics,' due to start on September 15 in Sydney. He called for harmonisation of penalties for those found guilty of doping offences. However, while supporting stronger controls, Ms Liz Lynne (ELDR, UK) cautioned that any changes must preserve the presumption of innocence, pointing out that there was still controversy over the accuracy of tests for naturally occurring substances such as nandrolone. MEPs supported proposals that warning labels should be included on the packaging of any pharmaceutical product which could cause sportsmen to show positive results in doping tests. There was also a need for a widespread public information campaign to alert young people to the potential effects of using performance-enhancing drugs on their health. Responding to the debate, Commissioner Viviane Reding confirmed that the EU would actively support the work of the World Anti-Doping Agency and contribute to its running costs. She noted that the EU was already spending 1.5 million euro on specific actions of the Agency and had earmarked a further 3.5 million euro for other anti-doping projects. She rejected a suggestion that the EU should amend the Treaty to allow measures to harmonise sport across the Community believing that articles under the subsidiarity process would be more appropriate. However, she did announce that the Commission would be approached with a proposal to make 2004 the European Year of Sport.