'Whitewashing' in sports must be avoided, warn EU ministers

"We talked about what member states can do to strengthen international organisations and push for respect for human rights, openness and transparency," underlined the Swedish minister for social affairs and public health, Jakob Forssmed, whose country presides the EU Council.

"It is clear that sport must not serve to normalise and legitimise a war of aggression. There can be no whitewashing."

In this context, the official specified that "some member states" have spoken out against the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international sporting competitions because of the invasion of Ukraine.

"There was a very broad consensus that the Olympic Games cannot be a showcase for a regime that has provoked a war that causes pain without any justification," stressed the Spanish minister, Miquel Iceta, at a time when the International Olympic Committee has not yet taken a decision regarding Paris-2024.

During the Council meeting, which also addressed the role of sport in social inclusion and cohesion, Margaritis Schinas, vice-president of the European Commission responsible for promoting the European 'way of life' and accused of allegedly lobbying Qatar over the football World Cup in 2022, argued that "major events must defend the political freedoms and rights of participants" rather than become "a propaganda tool".

The EU Council believes that sports organisations are "ill-equipped to combat various threats to their integrity", citing corruption scandals, money laundering, doping and poor working conditions as examples.

The ministers explored ways to strengthen human rights, openness and transparency in the adjudication and execution of international sporting events, as well as in the activities of European national parties and sports organisations.