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EU Criticizes IOC’s Decision on Return of Russian Athletes as “Rewarding” Civilian Attacks
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The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, has criticized the International Olympic Committee’s decision to allow Russian athletes to return to international competitions, The Guardian reported on July 13.
Addressing the diplomatic fallout of the decision, Kallas described the committee’s call as “blind to reality” given the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. She highlighted the timing of the reinstatement, noting that the move “coincides with Russia killing a record number of Ukrainian civilians”.
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In her criticism, Kallas argued that by opening the door to Russian competitors at this juncture, “it looks like International Olympic Committee is rewarding such attacks”.
The diplomatic friction follows a coordinated initiative by nine European Union member states urging the European Commission to terminate all institutional funding to the International Olympic Committee. Spearheaded by Estonia and backed by nations including Poland and the Netherlands, the joint appeal argues that international sports bodies must not receive taxpayer allocations from the European budget until they demonstrate alignment with the bloc’s core human rights standards.
This European counter-strategy developed in response to an administrative policy shift by the IOC Executive Board, which officially dismantled its recommended participation restrictions on Russian athletes. By transferring regulatory authority to independent sports federations, the governing body enabled individual sporting boards to permit the return of Russian competitors and national iconography.
The decision was also met with pushback from Ukrainian authorities, who note that Russian military operations have destroyed hundreds of Ukrainian training facilities and caused the deaths of more than 600 Ukrainian athletes and coaches since the 2022 invasion, fueling ongoing demands for a comprehensive athletic blockade.
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