Nine EU nations seek sports funding cuts over Russian athletes' return
Estonia’s culture ministry said nine EU countries asked Brussels to withhold support from sports bodies that readmit Russian and Belarusian athletes.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
2 min read
Nine EU countries have asked the European Commission to cut financial support for international sports bodies that allow Russian and Belarusian athletes back into competition, Estonia’s Ministry of Culture said. The request puts EU money at the center of a dispute over whether athletes from the two countries should return to major events before the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
According to Reuters, the proposal was sent to Glenn Micallef, the European commissioner responsible for intergenerational fairness, youth, culture and sport. Estonia’s ministry said the appeal targets bodies including the International Olympic Committee, World Aquatics and the International Fencing Federation.
The countries behind the request are Estonia, Denmark, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Sweden, according to the ministry. They want those organizations excluded from EU support programs, including Erasmus+, if they permit Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete.
IOC decision drew the response
The request followed a July 7 decision by the IOC executive board, Reuters reported. The board provisionally lifted the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee and said earlier limits on Russian athletes, introduced after Russia’s war on Ukraine began, no longer applied.
The IOC, World Aquatics and the fencing federation did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. The proposal signals a broader attempt by some EU governments to use the bloc’s funding tools against sports federations that break with their position on Russia and Belarus.
In their letter, the nine governments said sport’s international rules rest on democratic and peaceful principles. “Respect for human rights, the rule of law, and peaceful relations between nations are among the core principles underpinning international sport and the Olympic movement,” they wrote, according to Reuters.
The governments argued that letting Russian and Belarusian athletes return does not account for Ukrainian athletes’ circumstances. They said Ukrainian competitors face disrupted training because of displacement, destroyed sports facilities and military service.
The letter also rejected the idea that sporting decisions can be separated from the war. “Any assertions that sport can be separated from politics ring hollow when thousands of innocent Ukrainians have lost their lives and when sport continues to be instrumentalised by the Russian and Belarusian regimes,” the governments said, according to Reuters.
Beyond funding cuts, the nine countries asked the EU to restrict the role of organizations that do not comply in major European sports forums and EU-led sports development discussions. Reuters reported that the move could set up a confrontation between European governments and Olympic leaders as preparations continue for the Los Angeles Games.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.