Latvia and Lithuania and six other EU member states have joined Estonia’s call to ban EU funding for the International Olympic Committee (IOC), ERR reported. Earlier, the IOC executive committee provisionally lifted the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee, allowing Russian athletes to return to international competitions under the Russian flag. Under the Estonian proposal, sports organisations that permit Russia and Belarus back into international competitions would have their EU funding stopped. Erich Teigamägi, president of the Estonian Olympic Committee (EOK), argued that IOC’s decision ran counter to Olympic values.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna described the IOC decision as “disgraceful and irresponsible,” warning that “rewarding aggression only invites more of it,” ERR reported. Estonia’s Culture Minister, Heidy Purga, insisted that sports must not be used to normalise the actions of aggressor states. Latvia’s Minister of Education, Ilze Indriksone, said that state funding should not be used for competitions where athletes from Russia or Belarus are participating, LSM reported. Lithuania’s Foreign Minister, Kestutis Budrys, called on EU member states not to host sports events with Russian or Belarusian participation, ELTA reported.