The Council of Europe is committed to the fight against doping

The President of WADA underlined the central role that governments play in promoting clean sport during his address.

Various issues related to integrity in sport were discussed during this meeting.

The Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe has "raised the need to take concrete measures to restore integrity in sport, including the establishment of fully independent controls and the clarification and regulation of sanctions".

Reaffirming their support for the fight against doping and WADA as an international regulatory body which oversees the practice of clean sport, the European ministers responsible for sport have decided:

• assess and, where appropriate, revise and improve national anti-doping policies and practices, and ensure that government actions complement those of national and international anti-doping organizations;
• to strengthen WADA's capacity to respond to current and emerging challenges in the field of anti-doping;
• to support the efforts of the Council of Europe aimed at facilitating the development of a permanent and dynamic mechanism of coordination and exchange of information between public authorities of all continents on WADA-related matters;
• ask the Monitoring Group of the Anti-Doping Convention to reflect on the need and the possibility of revising the Council of Europe Anti-Doping Convention.

The Ministers also worked on the drafting of resolutions concerning the manipulation of sports competitions. They have as well "supported the development of a roadmap to improve the effectiveness of the convention and accelerate mobilization and cooperation at national and international levels".

Finally, a resolution in favor of better governance in sport was adopted and "is devoted to strengthening cooperation between national sports bodies and sports players".