MINSK, 5 December (BelTA) – Belarus is in favor of the unified European labeling for food products containing substances prohibited in sport, Belarus' Sports and Tourism Minister Alexander Shamko said at the meeting of the ministers of the member states to the Council of Europe's Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport during the Ministerial Conference in Budapest, BelTA learned from the press service of the Sports and Tourism Ministry.
The conference highlighted the fight against doping and match-fixing.
According to Alexander Shamko, today there is a need for a single European labeling of food products warning about substances prohibited in sport. This will help protect fair producers and the health of the athletes.
The practices adopted in Germany, where all pharmaceutical products containing substances banned in sport are marked, can serve as a good example for the European region.
Alexander Shamko also told the participants of the meeting about the work carried out in Belarus to combat doping in sport. The country demonstrates a strong political will and has the corresponding legal framework. The country is committed to the systemic work relying on the international best practices.
He noted that a group of the Council of Europe's experts paid a monitoring visit to Belarus in 2015 on the initiative of the Sports and Tourism Ministry, the Healthcare Ministry, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The recommendations provided during the visit were used in the ongoing anti-doping effort in Belarus. The President's executive order that envisaged accession to the additional protocol to the Convention Against Doping in Sport was enacted in October 2016. Amendments were introduced to the law on physical education and sport. The National Anti-Doping Agency is implementing an international cooperation program.
The anti-doping seminar “Efficient Models for Anti-Doping Programs” was held in Minsk under the auspices of the Council of Europe on 22 November. Attending the meeting were experts from the anti-doping agencies of Denmark, Germany and Finland.
“This practice will help expand cooperation between the countries members to the Convention, intensify the exchange of anti-doping practices and promote the idea of clean sport,” said Alexander Shamko.
While in Hungary, Alexander Shamko held a number of bilateral meetings and invited his counterparts to visit Minsk for the Second European Games in 2019.
The conference participants signed the Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions, the Convention on an Integrated Safety, Security and Service Approach at Football Matches and Other Sports Events, and also the protocol to the agreement between the Council of Europe and the World Anti-Doping Agency.
