Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-04-14-Speech-4-008"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20050414.3.4-008"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, today's oral question and the related motion for a resolution by the Committee on Culture and Education on combating doping in sport follows on from extended efforts by the European Parliament.
taking account of the fact that the issue of doping is primarily a public health issue
likewise taking account of the fact that the Constitutional Treaty provides an appropriate legal basis to draw up and implement Community action
and again given the fact that, according to a survey by Eurobarometer, four out of five citizens believe that the European Union should take action to combat doping
· we call on the Commission to tell us what initiatives it intends to take today to combat doping in sport:
· How does it intend to inform European public opinion, especially young people involved in amateur sports, about the very serious dangers inherent in the use of banned pharmaceutical substances?
· How does it intend, especially in cooperation with the Member States, to point out these dangers through education, given that raising awareness among young people, who are the most vulnerable group, starts at school?
· Does the Commission intend to finance, within the framework of the Seventh Framework Programme, research programmes into new, effective methods for detecting the use of banned pharmaceutical substances?
· How, finally, does it intend to cooperate with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the Council of Europe and the World Health Organisation, as well as with the Member States, in order to guarantee the success of the actions required?
Ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, today we are calling on the European Commission to take immediate action to ensure that the present situation improves quickly.
I would merely remind you that the first initiative by the European Parliament on doping was the resolution of 7 September 2000 on the Commission communication on a Community support plan to combat doping in sport and that the last major initiative was the public hearing organised by our committee just last November, entitled 'Drug-taking in sport: obstacle to the ideal of athleticism', at which a large number of invited experts gave their views.
This public hearing was held after the Olympic Games in Athens, which demonstrated once again that doping in sport continues, unfortunately, to be a real and worsening phenomenon. It is worth noting that we had 22 incidents of athletes who tested positive during doping controls at the Athens Olympics, which was twice the number at Sidney.
Today's oral question relating to the motion for a resolution is the result of these previous initiatives and of the acute concern in our committee about the proportions which doping has taken on today in a bid to increase athletic performances.
The problem is two-fold.
On the one hand, doping is contrary to the ideals of athleticism, as put forward in the Olympic Charter on sport. The spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play – in other words all the values which make sport a social, cultural and educational activity – are obviously irreconcilable with doping, the aims of which are to cheat and to acquire riches and fifteen minutes of fame.
On the other hand, doping is dangerous to the health of the athletes who take recourse to banned substances, often in knowledge of the inherent dangers. I should like here to comment in particular on the fact that chemical substances are used not only by professional athletes, but also by a large number of amateurs. According to a recent study by the European Commission, 6% of young people who train in fitness centres, in other words more than four million young people, use 'pharmaceutical' substances in a bid, of course, to enhance their performance. We believe that coordinated action by the Member States is vital in order to develop common methods for controlling and certifying the use of these so-called 'pharmaceutical' substances. At the same time, account must be taken of the fact that many of these substances are also sold via the Internet. It would also be advisable if widely available preparations carried labels stating that they were anabolic substances.
We are, I believe, all in agreement on these issues. We all share the conviction that specific action is needed to combat this dramatic phenomenon.
Consequently:"@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples