Follow-up Committee
George Mavrotas
"Manipulation of sport competitions constitutes one of the major threats for sport along with doping and violence (of any kind). The Council of Europe is on the frontline against manipulation of sport competitions, with the Macolin Convention being the only legally-binding international treaty on this subject.
I am deeply honored and thankful to be elected as Chair in the Follow-up Committee of the Macolin Convention that has the important role to coordinate the main actors, to monitor its implementation and eventually to encourage more countries to ratify the Convention. I strongly believe that combating manipulation of sport competition is a “team sport”, a collective effort. We must join forces as much as we can and make this fight a global challenge. Governments, sport movement, international organisations, law enforcement, betting authorities, are all in the same team against a common opponent. Moreover, we must have in mind that our task is not a sprint race, but rather a marathon run, in which there is no time to waste.
The Macolin convention is about sport values and how to protect them in the modern era. The Follow-up Committee is from now on the Macolin “vehicle” which is for us a great challenge and an even greater responsibility. Along with my colleagues in the Committee and the Bureau, with the valuable help from the Secretariat and the whole organisation of Council of Europe, we are going to work towards these directions, and show that the Macolin Convention is active, effective and attractive for all those who want to join forces in order to protect sport and its values."
The Macolin Committee has been set up to monitor the implementation of the Convention by its States Parties. After its first meeting on 24 and 25 November 2020, its main tasks will be the following:
- Assess the compliance of States Parties legislation, policies and practices with the Convention;
- Make recommendations to the Parties on measures to ensure efficient co-operation between the relevant public authorities, sports organisations and betting operators;
- Prepare opinions to the attention of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe; and
- Promote the Convention and inform relevant stakeholders and the public about the activities undertaken within the framework of the Convention.
The Committee is composed of representatives of States Parties as well as Observers.
The Bureau of the Follow-up Committee is currently composed as follows:
- Chair: Georges Mavrotas, Greece
- Vice-Chair: Wilhelm Rauch, Switzerland
- Elected members:
- Eirik Haugen Tysse, Norway
- Nataliia Radchuk, Ukraine
9th meeting of the Follow-up Committee, 7 October 2024
8th meeting of the Follow-up Committee, 22 May 2024
The 8th meeting of the Follow-up Committee of the Macolin Convention was held on 22 May 2024 in Macolin (Switzerland) and was attended in person or online by 30 members and observers.
The list of decisions adopted by the Follow-up Committee provides a comprehensive overview of the various topics addressed during this 8th meeting.
7th meeting of the Follow-up Committee, 29-30 November 2023
The 7th meeting of the Follow-up Committee of the Macolin Convention was held on 29-30 November 2023 in Athens and was attended in person or online by 30 members and observers.
The list of decisions adopted by the Follow-up Committee provides a comprehensive overview of the various topics addressed during this 7th meeting.
6th meeting of the Follow-up Committee, 9-10 May 2023
The sixth meeting of the Follow-up Committee of the Macolin Convention was held on 9-10 May 2023 in Paris and was attended in person or online by 30 members and observers.
The list of decisions adopted by the Follow-up Committee provides a comprehensive overview of the various topics addressed during this 6th meeting.
The next meeting of the Committee will be held in Athens on 29-30 November 2023.
5th meeting of the Follow-up Committee, 20 October 2022
The fifth meeting of the Follow-up Committee of the Macolin Convention was held on 20 October 2022. The meeting was chaired by Mr George Mavrotas (Greece) and was attended in person or online by nearly 30 members and observers.
The meeting started with the election of Mr Wilhelm Rauch (Switzerland) as Vice-Chair of the Committee.
The Follow-up Committee then welcomed recent developments by States Parties and observers.
Delegations also exchanged views on model legal provisions on data protection. Representatives exchanged views on the first monitoring cycle based on a self-assessment questionnaire.
The Committee welcomed the presentations on non-competitive matches and illegal betting.
The Committee also decided on the dates for its next meeting, which will take place in April 2023. The complete list of decisions taken is available here.
4th meeting of the Follow-up Committee, 6-7 April 2022
The Follow-Up Committee of the Macolin Convention held its fourth meeting on 6 and 7 April 2022, for the first in person since it was established in 2020. Hosting the remote participation of over 30 members and observers. Held in the presence of the Chair of the Committee, Mr. George Mavrotas (Greece), it welcomed 11 delegates and observers who travelled to Strasbourg for the occasion.
The Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Mr Bjørn Berge opened the session by welcoming attendees, who then went on to discuss the Council of Europe Strategic Priorities in Sport for 2022-25.
During this important meeting, the Committee received other relevant updates such as the Committee’s contribution to the PACE Rec 2221 (2022) on “Football governance: business and values”.
The Committee emphasised the importance of the Macolin Data Protection Principles as demonstrated through the findings of a survey on model legal provisions applicable to this field. A special focus was equally devoted to international cooperation through the work of the Addressing Competition’s Manipulation Together (ACT) newly created project.
Furthermore, the Committee outlined the initial elements for the definition of a monitoring method applicable to the Convention’s legal framework. To this effect, delegates were presented with the Draft Guidelines on the Monitoring of the Saint-Denis Convention, as an example of a solid methodology to follow.
The Committee took equally note of the dates of its next meeting on 19 and 20 October 2022. A full list of achieved decisions is available here.
3rd meeting of the Follow-up Committee, 11-12 October 2021
Once again a hybrid meeting, the 3rd session of the Committee welcomed in Strasbourg the Chair of the Committee, Mr. George Mavrotas (Greece) and remotely over 30 members and observers.
The Committee's Action Plan 2022-2025 was adopted, which aims at increasing the number of parties to the convention, supporting its implementation and advancing cooperation among key stakeholders at the national and international levels. Furthermore, in accordance with Article 31.2 of the Macolin Convention, the Committee adopted the first version of the list of "sports organisations", emphasising its dynamic and updateable nature, as necessary. The Committee took note of the forthcoming 22 November meeting of the network of national platforms (Group of Copenhagen), and reaffirmed the importance of this Group and of its establishment as Advisory Group to the Committee.
On the subject of the ratification of the Convention by member States of the European Union, the Committee invited its Chair, in the light of the recent opinion 1/19 of the Court of Justice of the European Union, to convey the Committee's call for rapid ratification of the Convention. It also supported the adoption of the Macolin Data Protection Principles jointly with the Committee of Convention 108, highlighting that work in this field should be pursued. The full list of decisions achieved is available here.
2nd meeting of the Follow-up Committee, 23-24 June 2021
Delegates from the seven State Parties (Greece, Italy, Norway, Portugal, the Republic of Moldova, Switzerland and Ukraine) granted UEFA and FIFA the status of Observer to the Committee and welcomed the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sports (EPAS) amongst the Council of Europe bodies invited to participate in its future meetings.
The list of decisions also includes the adoption of the Terms of Reference of the Advisory Group on the Network of National Platforms (Group of Copenhagen), as well as the election of the Bureau of the Committee for a two-year term. The Committee additionally identified priority work for the incoming period, including a draft list of sport organisations and the basis for a discussion on Malta’s recent commitment to sign the Convention. More information is available in the meeting's final report.
1st meeting of the Follow-up Committee, 24-25 November 2020
Delegates from the seven states parties to the Macolin Convention (Italy, Greece, Norway, Portugal, the Republic of Moldova, Switzerland and Ukraine) adopted the Committee’s Rules of Procedure and held a first exchange of views on working methods, cooperation with key stakeholders and approaches to monitoring. The list of decisions includes the granting of observer status to the International Olympic Committee, INTERPOL and GLMS (Global Lotteries Monitoring System). The Committee also agreed on the importance of integrating the Network of National Platforms (Group of Copenhagen). In its work as an advisory group and decided to discuss a possible mandate at its next meeting.
