The 21st meeting of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS) Statutory Committee took place in Strasbourg on 19 October 2026, chaired by Ambassador Gabriel Revel, Permanent Representative of Monaco to the Council of Europe. After a restricted session on EPAS’s membership, ongoing work and proposed 2027 budget, participants joined an extended session open to non-member states: “Sport is respect: Leadership, inclusion and community action against hate”.
French athlete specialised in long & triple jump, Paralympic and World Champion, and an inclusion advocate Arnaud Assoumani drew on his experience as an athlete to connect sport with education, culture and equal participation. He underlined the fundamental role of sport for public health and its role of connecting different people. He recalled that “disability is the first cause of discrimination”.
Barbara Coscarella and Luca De Simoni of Italy’s Lega Nazionale Dilettanti showed how coaches can make inclusion part of everyday team life. Their approach uses play, real-life situations and shared reflection to address prejudice and discrimination, with a simple guiding principle: “A team leaves no one behind.”
Timothé Boudhil, Chief Referee and President of the National Arbitration Commission at the French Fencing Federation, brought attention to the protection of referees, the need for sports organisations to respond to discrimination and abuse and the need to strengthen good governance in sport federations at national, European and international levels.
EPAS Vice-Chair Ioanna Paraskevopoulou set the wider context, highlighting the organisation’s work to make sport safer, more inclusive and more ethical. She also pointed to preparations for the Council of Europe’s 19th Conference of Ministers responsible for sport, which will focus on “Safer and Healthier Sport for all Children”.
The Statutory Committee is composed of representatives to the Committee of Ministers of the member states of the Council of Europe which are members of EPAS, and of representatives specifically designated by states which are not Council of Europe members but which are party to EPAS. Each year, it adopts the budget on expenditure relating to the implementation of the programme of activities.
