Source: European Parliament
The Commission is aware of the risks of criminal infiltration in sports, which is a sector at a particularly high risk of corruption[1], and is targeting this phenomenon through several initiatives.
In particular the Commission proposed a new Directive on combatting corruption[2] which is now being negotiated by the co-legislators.
The Commission has also requested a study to examine what measures Member States have been taken at national level to mitigate this risk.
In addition, in its European Internal Security Strategy the Commission has set out a whole-of-society approach to security and will propose new measures to tackle organised crime.
At European level , the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) is already working closely with sport bodies such as the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and the International Olympic Committee to tackle corruption in sports and supports national law enforcement units in operational actions in this area[3].
- [1] High-risk areas of corruption in the EU: A mapping and in-depth analysis, 4 November 2023 ; https://op.europa.eu/fr/publication-detail/-/publication/5c0730b2-9769-11ef-a130-01aa75ed71a1/language-en
- [2] Proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and the Council on combating corruption, COM (2023) 234 final.
- [3] https://www.europol.europa.eu/media-press/newsroom/news/time-out-for-match-fixers-manipulating-livestreams