The Council of the European Union encourages member states to place more emphasis on the fight against doping in the recreational sports sector.
The Council adopted conclusions on combating doping in recreational sport, with a view to raising awareness and defining a common framework on this matter, as well as to identifying best practices.
The fight against doping in professional and elite sports continues to be a key element in securing the integrity of sport. Unfortunately, doping problems have also spread to recreational sports, to competitive amateur sports, fitness centers and even beyond the sporting sphere.
The international fight against doping in elite and professional sport aims at achieving fair play in sport by means of control and sanctions. However, in the field of recreational sports, the goal of anti-doping measures is different: the focus being to secure the health of the exercising population and the integrity of recreational sport environments. In addition, trafficking of doping substances targeted at users in recreational sports makes this an issue of international concern.
In order to extend the focus on doping within the recreational sports sector, an EU Expert Group on Anti-Doping will collect best practices in the fight against doping in recreational sport with regards to prevention, education and control. The goal is to be able to present by the end of 2013 a set of recommendations on combating doping in recreational sports that can be applied on both an EU and national level.