Estonia seeks to deny EU funding to sports organizations that readmit Russia and Belarus
Estonia has called on the European Union to withhold financial support from international sports organizations that reopen competitions to Russian and Belarusian representatives while Russia's war against Ukraine continues. The initiative from Tallinn is not conceived as a conventional financial penalty that organizations would have to pay into the European budget, but as the loss of access to Erasmus+ and other forms of EU support. The Estonian government believes that European money should not go to bodies whose decisions, in its assessment, contribute to the normalization of countries linked to the war and undermine the political messages that the Union has adopted toward Russia.
The proposal gained additional significance following the decision by the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee on July 7, 2026, to provisionally lift the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee and withdraw its previous recommendations to international federations concerning special restrictions on Russian athletes. This did not automatically determine that Russia would appear at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles with its national flag, anthem and full national status, but it removed an important part of the institutional obstacles introduced after the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine. Estonia sees precisely this change as the beginning of a broader process of Russia's and Belarus's return to international sport.
Tallinn wants to link European funding to political accountability
The Estonian Ministry of Culture announced on July 8 that the country, together with partner countries, was addressing European Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport Glenn Micallef. The proposal calls for sports organizations that permit the return of Russia and Belarus to international competitions to be excluded from EU funding programs. Among the bodies explicitly named as being covered by the initiative, the ministry listed the International Olympic Committee, the International Fencing Federation and World Aquatics, the governing organization for aquatic sports.
Estonian Minister of Culture Heidy Purga said that, in the current security situation, decisions that return countries associated with aggression to international sport as though nothing had happened could not be accepted. According to her, sport is not value-neutral because appearances, flags, anthems and official status always send a political message. Purga believes that support from European taxpayers should not be available to organizations whose decisions conflict with Europe's responsibility toward Ukraine.
The proposal goes beyond funding alone. The Estonian ministry proposes that serious consideration be given to restricting the participation of such sports bodies in future discussions and events devoted to the development of European sports policy. Organizations that pursue the full reintegration of Russia and Belarus would thereby have not only their access to support reduced, but also their political influence in processes through which the EU shapes priorities such as good governance, the integrity of sport, the fight against discrimination and the protection of athletes.
The announcement did not provide a complete list of the countries supporting the initiative, so the scope of the coalition had not been officially clarified as of July 13, 2026. Estonian public broadcaster ERR reported that other countries had also joined the proposal, but the number and names of the governments were not published in the ministry's statement. For that reason, it currently represents political pressure on the European Commission rather than an already adopted decision that would automatically halt payments.
What the IOC actually changed on July 7
The Russian Olympic Committee had been suspended since October 2023, after it incorporated into its membership regional sports organizations from Ukrainian territories that Russia had occupied and declared annexed. At the time, the IOC assessed that such a move had violated the territorial integrity of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine and the Olympic Charter. In July 2026, the IOC's Legal Affairs Commission concluded that the Russian body no longer included those organizations, after which the Executive Board provisionally lifted the suspension.
At the same time, the IOC announced that its recommendations to international federations on restricting the participation of Russian athletes were no longer applicable. The previous model included neutral status, checks for possible links to the military and security structures, and an assessment of public support for the war. Under the new approach, international federations were given significantly greater scope to decide for themselves on the participation of Russian athletes, subject to compliance with anti-doping requirements and their own competition rules.
IOC President Kirsty Coventry explained the change by invoking the principle that athletes should not be held responsible for the decisions of their governments. The IOC maintains that it has not changed its position on the war, which it continues to condemn, and that it will not organize events in Russia or invite Russian state officials to its events. No decision has been made on whether the Russian flag, national colors and anthem will be permitted at future Olympic Games, meaning that the path toward a full return has been opened but has not yet been completed.
Anti-doping supervision remains a particular issue. The Russian Anti-Doping Agency remains subject to international restrictions, and the IOC announced that Russian athletes would have to meet the relevant testing requirements before returning. Decisions by individual federations also remain decisive: the IOC's guidelines are not a legally binding order for every federation, so the status will differ from one sport to another.
The IOC made a similar shift regarding Belarus earlier, in May 2026. At that time, the Executive Board lifted the recommended restrictions on Belarusian athletes and teams, stating that they had previously competed as neutral participants without incidents and that athletes should not be excluded because of the actions of their authorities. Belarus has remained Russia's key ally and a source of logistical support for Moscow in the war, which is why Tallinn views the Russian and Belarusian return as a connected political issue.
The European Union has already rejected the normalization of Russian participation
The Estonian initiative builds on the political position adopted by EU heads of state and government at the European Council meeting on June 18 and 19, 2026. In their official conclusions, they stated that, for as long as there is no just and lasting peace in Ukraine, there should be no normalization of Russian participation in international sporting and cultural events. European Council conclusions are adopted by consensus among the member states, so Tallinn argues that the decisions of sports organizations must also have consequences for European funding policy.
The European Commission has also expressed serious concern over the IOC's move. Commission spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen stated on July 9 that the Commission fully supported the European Council's position on preventing the normalization of Russian participation while the war continued. Nevertheless, by July 13 the Commission had not publicly announced that it accepted Estonia's request for the automatic exclusion of the IOC and other federations from EU programs.
The Ukrainian Olympic Committee described the IOC's decision as premature and unjustified. The Ukrainian side argues that the return of Russian institutions to the Olympic movement while the invasion continues is incompatible with the principles of peace, human dignity and respect for international law. Kyiv has also warned for years about the links between some Russian athletes and sports clubs associated with the military and security structures, which is why the removal of the checks is causing additional concern.
The Russian authorities received the decision very differently. The Kremlin called it an important step toward restoring the rights of Russian athletes, while Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev said that he expected national teams to return to an increasing number of sports. Such statements further support Estonia's argument that the sporting return is presented in Moscow not merely as an issue concerning individual athletes, but also as the institutional and political rehabilitation of the state.
Erasmus+ is not only a student exchange program
The Estonian proposal specifically mentions Erasmus+, a program best known to the wider public for student mobility, but which also covers sport. Under the EU's official rules, the program's sporting activities include cooperation partnerships, small-scale partnerships, not-for-profit European sporting events, mobility of sports staff and capacity-building projects. Its objectives include physical activity, volunteering, inclusion, good governance, the fight against doping and match-fixing, and the promotion of common values.
Approximately 74.1 million euros was earmarked for the sports component of Erasmus+ in the 2026 call. That amount is not a fund intended for the IOC or international federations as a group, but the overall allocation for a range of calls and projects in the field of sport. Applications are assessed individually, and beneficiaries may be public or private bodies active in education, youth and sport, depending on the type of activity and the conditions of the specific call.
Implementing Estonia's request would therefore require the criteria to be precisely defined. The European Commission could amend annual work programs, the conditions of future calls or the rules used to assess the eligibility of individual organizations and projects. However, political disagreement with a decision by a sports federation is not in itself equivalent to the existing grounds for exclusion from funding, which under European rules are most commonly connected to fraud, corruption, serious professional misconduct, conflicts of interest or breaches of contractual obligations.
The Estonian initiative could therefore develop into a debate about a new form of conditionality for European support. Tallinn wants the allocation of money to assess not only financial propriety and project quality, but also the compliance of major sports organizations with the EU's fundamental political decisions. Opponents of such an approach could argue that the Union would thereby be politically intervening in the autonomy of sport, while supporters respond that public money is never neutral and must be allocated in accordance with the objectives and values of the program.
International federations are already choosing different paths
The IOC's decision does not mean that all sports will readmit Russia and Belarus at the same time. World Athletics has maintained stricter restrictions and has not accepted immediate reintegration, while FIFA announced that it would analyze the IOC's decision before determining its next steps. UEFA has not announced an immediate change in the status of Russian clubs and national teams. By contrast, individual federations in aquatic sports, gymnastics and other disciplines had already eased their rules, creating an uneven international system.
That is precisely why Estonia named the International Fencing Federation and World Aquatics among its examples. In those sports, debates about neutral status, national symbols and the conditions for return have been continuing for some time, while federation decisions directly affect qualification, rankings and the possibility of participating in major competitions. Financial pressure from the EU would be an attempt to introduce a common European response into this fragmented landscape.
The Estonian Olympic Committee has also opposed the easing of restrictions. Its representatives argue that flags, anthems and official appearances can be used as instruments of state soft power and that sport cannot be separated from the security and political context of the war. At the same time, they do not advocate the withdrawal of Estonian athletes from every competition in which Russians or Belarusians appear, but call on international institutions to maintain clear boundaries concerning state symbols and official structures.
The debate will take place ahead of the start of qualification for Los Angeles
The timing of the initiative is not accidental. Qualification cycles for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles are beginning or intensifying in a number of sports during 2026 and 2027, so decisions made now determine who will be able to collect points, compete in team events and secure Olympic quotas. If international federations quickly apply the IOC's guidelines, Russian and Belarusian athletes could return to the system in significantly greater numbers before the issue of the flag and anthem at the Games themselves is resolved.
Commissioner Glenn Micallef is responsible, among other things, for developing the European model of sport and using sport to promote health, inclusion and common values. Estonia's request confronts the Commission with the question of whether this value framework can be separated from decisions concerning war, international law and political accountability. In doing so, the Commission will have to assess the legal basis, the proportionality of the measure, existing contracts and the possibility that a sanction could affect specific projects or partners that did not participate in the disputed decision.
For Tallinn, the objective is broader than punishing a single organization. Estonia is attempting to create a precedent under which international sports bodies cannot simultaneously use European programs, participate in shaping EU sports policy and make decisions that European governments consider a form of normalization of Russia. It is not yet clear whether this approach will receive sufficient support among the member states and be transformed into workable funding rules. However, the debate has already demonstrated that the question of the return of Russia and Belarus is no longer only about flags and competition schedules, but also about who has access to European money and political legitimacy.
Sources:
- Estonian Ministry of Culture - official announcement of the initiative, statements by Minister Heidy Purga and the list of named sports organizations (link)
- International Olympic Committee - decision to provisionally lift the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee and change the recommendations to international federations (link)
- International Olympic Committee - explanation of the lifting of the recommended restrictions on Belarusian athletes in May 2026 (link)
- European Council - conclusions of June 18 and 19, 2026, opposing the normalization of Russian participation in international sporting and cultural events (link)
- EUR-Lex - official Erasmus+ call for 2026, eligible applicants, sporting activities and the budget for sport (link)
- Erasmus+ / European Commission - description of sporting activities, objectives and types of projects financed (link)
- ERR News - additional details of the Estonian proposal, reactions from Estonian officials and the request to restrict the participation of sports bodies in EU discussions (link)
- Associated Press - reactions from the Kremlin and information about the differing positions of FIFA, UEFA and athletics bodies (link)
- Euronews - reaction from the Ukrainian Olympic Committee and clarification that a decision on Russian symbols at the Olympic Games has not yet been made (link)
- European Pravda - statement by the European Commission spokesperson concerning serious concern over the IOC's decision (link)