Deputy Secretary General Bjorn Berge and Lord George Foulkes (SOC, United Kingdom), member of the House of Lords and PACE discussed ways and means to further enhance co-operation in the area of sports amongst various parts of the Council of Europe, notably the intergovernmental and parliamentary dimensions, with a particular focus on the human rights dimension of sports.

“Today, our Organisation is a very relevant partner in sports in Europe and beyond, in light of its highly relevant conventions (such as the Anti-Doping Convention; the Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions ; the Council of Europe Convention on an Integrated Safety, Security and Service Approach at Football Matches and Other Sports Events) and the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with both UEFA and FIFA) as well as the ongoing work within the European Partial Agreement on Sports (EPAS), ” emphasised Mr Berge.

“Let’s never forget that sports is an area that is important to, and directly affects the life of, so many people in Europe and around the world”, added the Council of Europe Deputy Secretary General.

“I trust that the ongoing work within the Committee on Culture and the discussion we will have within the Assembly on the basis of the report I am preparing, will help us to contribute constructively to the overall work of the Council of Europe,” underlined Lord Foulkes, PACE rapporteur on “Football governance: business and values”.