In it together: a unified approach to integrity in sport

Check against delivery

It is a huge pleasure to be here – and to see so many Ministers and representatives from the sporting world, as well as other international institutions.

I’d like to thank the Hungarian authorities and Mr Zoltan Balog, Minister for Human Capacities, for hosting such a timely conference.

Recent weeks have seen important developments in the fight against cheating and corruption in sport.

We have had only a few days ago the important decision by WADA’s Foundation Board to focus immediate attention on a series of recommendations aimed at making the regulator more effective in the future, ranging from compliance and governance, to investigations and whistleblowing. 

The situation in the Russian Federation continues to receive a lot of attention. Let me say how pleased I am to see my friend, Minister of Sport Pavel Kolobkov, here today, so that I can congratulate him in person for his recent appointment, and discuss further with him the good progress we are making in implementing the anti-doping Action Plan put in place by the Ministry of Sport and the Council of Europe.  

This Action Plan is co-ordinated with the work established with WADA in the Russian Federation, and I am confident that our concerted efforts can rapidly bring results.

And the debate goes on about what must be done, in practice, to restore the integrity of sport, including through proposals on how to ensure fully-independent testing.  We are discussing also how to clarify and regulate sanctions and a number of other fundamental questions which I’m sure will come up today.

So, as I said, it is an extremely timely meeting. And, with all of this going on, it is absolutely right that we meet to discuss next steps, and to try to forge a common path.

I don’t need to dwell on the problems in sport. You all know them. And in its three chosen topics for the day – anti-doping, match-fixing and good governance – the EPAS governing board has taken us right to the heart of the issues.

Nor do I need to tell anyone here about the need to respond to these problems, and the value of sport to our societies. Many of you have devoted your working lives to it. Many of you are responsible for keeping it on the agenda within your governments. You know well its power for good in our communities.

So let me instead state plainly the question which I believe unites us all, and which brings us all here:

How can we prevent another scandal? How can we draw a line under sport’s difficult recent past, turning a corner, turning a page – whichever metaphor you wish to use.

Isn’t this what we are all thinking? Despite our different perspectives and interests, don’t we ultimately all want the same thing?

I believe that we do. And if we are to achieve that goal, we have to trust each other.

The diversity of actors in sport is sometimes presented as a barrier to meaningful reform: too many different groups and bodies, wanting too many different things. And it’s true that reconciling many different viewpoints creates challenges.

But we need each other. We are in this together.

There will be no progress on match-fixing unless governments agree to, and implement, a common legal framework, allowing justice to operate across borders. And, by that, I mean ratifying the Council of Europe’s Convention on match-fixing – the Macolin Convention. This treaty is open to all countries in the world, and can provide the blueprint for a genuinely global approach.

There will be no progress on doping unless each and every country, and the big international actors, can get behind a clear and consistent division of responsibilities, which reduces the possibility of conflicts of interests.

And there will be no progress at all – none which lasts, in any event – unless national authorities and the sports movement can agree on a single, recognised set of principles to guide governance structures. A set of principles which will guarantee greater transparency; which will guarantee that decision making is accountable; and which ensure that decision makers are independent of one and other and we see a proper separation of powers.

This issue of finding collective agreement on the governance question is absolutely crucial. And I believe that the Council of Europe has an important contribution to make. Yes, we provide the overall normative, legal framework that we all operate under, through our Conventions. Yes, we work directly and bilaterally with our member states, and with the sports movement.  Yes, we ourselves have good experience in reforming our Organisation to respond to modern best practice in public governance.  But above all, we see ourselves as a facilitator.

As the body able to bring everyone together so that, as I said, we can forge a common path.

Looking out at this room, I see our institutional diversity not as a weakness, but as a strength.  

The politicians bring crucial democratic insights. They approach the dilemmas we face from the perspective of voters and taxpayers. They live and breathe matters of governance. They know what it is like to operate under the close scrutiny of a public which has come to expect unprecedented levels of transparency from its large, social institutions.

Our sports organisations, international and national, instinctively think of our athletes. They understand what makes our major tournaments a success – and what would harm them. Their reflex will always be to defend autonomy in sport. And we are glad for it.

The international institutions, not just the Council of Europe, but also UNESCO and the European Union, understand the need for co-operation. We know from our experiences that if there are disparities in our responses to law-breaking – loopholes and inconsistencies – they will almost certainly be exploited by criminals. We have to move together, and to work together in a spirit of equality and of trust.

For when you put all of us together, with all of our different expertise and perspectives, through compromise, through collaboration, through seeking consensus, we have the best chance of ending up in the right place.

So let us begin in this spirit.

If you will allow me one further point: I know I said that I would not speak about the social value of sport, but, forgive me: it is dear to my heart. Sport has always served important functions in our societies – fostering a sense of community; of pride; teaching individuals the value of hard work; teaching people to work together. But there is one benefit of sport which I believe is especially relevant in Europe today, and that is its power to support integration. 

I recently attended a conference dedicated to migration and sport, in Vienna. I heard countless accounts of the way in which sport has helped newcomers find their place in our societies. Many of them refugees who have left everything behind, who arrive in our countries with no job, no security, who can’t speak the language, but who have been helped, by sport, to feel as though they belong. And who, crucially, have been accepted by the wider community, as part of the home team.

In a Europe struggling to get to grips with its diversity, and with more refugees and migrants arriving by the day, this contribution – to inclusive and tolerant societies – should not be downplayed.

And, for me, these are the stories we want people to know about sport. Not the corruption. Not the scandals. But the power to bridge divides and break down barriers. To bring pleasure, a sense of community and a sense of purpose to millions across the world.  Thank you.