This week, it is expected that there will be increased calls for the European Union to force the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to soften its new rules on conducting drug tests outside the competition. The said new rules are being criticized for allegedly being invasive of the athletes’ privacy. More than that, the World Anti-Doping Code is said to be contradictory to the domestic laws of European Union States. Hence, it must be disregarded.

Several issues were listed by the EU advisory panel on data protection and privacy in its 19-page report. In the said report, the panel wanted the privacy legislation of Europe to be incorporated in the WADA code. With the code, athletes are being forced to declare their whereabouts for an hour per day. This declaration is intended for surprise testing. The EU advisory panel wants this practice of forced declaration to be changed.

These findings were rejected by WADA immediately. They call these findings as unfounded. More than that, they worry that these challenges that are being posed on their accepted and well-established anti-doping practices are undermining the efforts in combating the practice of doping in sports. In fact, Mr. John Fahey, the president of WADA says that these challenges are not offering any solutions that are constructive. Given the report made by the said EU panel, members of the European Parliament like Emine Bozkurt are intending to make the EU executive commission act immediately on it. According to her, countries which already adapted their anti-doping codes based on the rules of WADA have to revert back the changes that they have made.

All of Europe had been very much critical about the WADA rules. In fact, European officials are calling that the system be suspended till after the issues are cleared up. Aside from European officials, big-time athletes as well as international federations just like FIFA are also critical about the implemented rules.

With the current WADA system, athletes are supposed to let WADA know their whereabouts for one hour per day during the seven days of the week for the next three months. All of this information are available in the internet and could be updated through a text message or via e-mail. This system is being contended, especially by lots of athletes, as infringing to their right to privacy. They could be tested anytime even if they are on the beach or even when they are on the club. At least 65 athletes from Belgium already started to file proceedings in the court against WADA’s whereabouts system. They cited the European Convention on Human Rights in their proceedings. Another incident of recalcitrant behaviour from Europe was the passage of the Spanish decree that gives athletes the capacity to refuse having drug tests during the night.

In defense, WADA says that they have undertaken sufficient legal advice to make sure that their rules are not in violation of any provisions in the European Convention on Human Rights. They also criticized the EU panel’s report. According to them, the report is challenging well-established anti-doping practices and rules that were long-accepted. With the said statements made by WADA, Bozkurt said that it just made the options fewer and made the confrontation more intensified. Right now, Boskurt is wondering how a dialogue between EU and WADA could be started.

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