July 14 (Reuters) - Nine European nations have asked the European Union to cut funding to sports bodies including the International Olympic Committee that let Russian and Belarusian athletes return to competition, Estonia's ministry of culture said on Tuesday.
Addressed to European Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport Glenn Micallef, the proposal targets major bodies including the IOC, World Aquatics and the International Fencing Federation (FIE).
The move marks the strongest collective push yet by EU member states to use the bloc's financial leverage against international sports bodies over the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes, setting up a potential confrontation between European governments and the Olympic movement ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
The IOC, World Aquatics and FIE did not immediately reply to requests for comment
On July 7 the IOC executive board provisionally lifted its suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee and noted that previous restrictions on Russian athletes were no longer applicable.
The nine European nations — Estonia, Denmark, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Sweden — have called for these governing bodies to be excluded from the EU’s Erasmus+ and other financial support programmes.
"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 in the letter.
The nine nations said allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes back into competition ignores the reality of Ukrainian competitors, who are unable to train under equal conditions due to displacement, destruction of infrastructure, or enlistment in the armed forces.
"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 statement said.
In addition to stripping the sports bodies of financial support, the nine countries proposed limiting the involvement of non-compliant organisations in key European sports forums and EU-led development discussions.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
