Five MEPs from The Left group have asked the European Commission to back a permanent EU mechanism to monitor respect for human rights at major international sporting events, in a parliamentary question submitted on 23 June 2026. The lawmakers, led by Carolina Morace, argue that recent competitions have raised serious concerns over workers' rights, freedom of expression, non-discrimination, gender equality and the safety of LGBTIQ+ people, both during events and in their run-up.
The question contains three concrete demands. First, the MEPs want the Commission to support the creation of a standing EU monitoring body. Second, they call on the Commission to urge FIFA, UEFA and the International Olympic Committee to adopt compulsory minimum fundamental-rights standards that would apply before events are awarded. Third, they ask whether the Commission believes all EU funding in this context should be made conditional on verifiable human-rights criteria, including safeguards against discrimination and protection for participants.
The question signals a push for stronger EU leverage over global sports bodies, which have historically resisted binding human-rights conditions on event hosting. If the Commission endorses the proposal, it could lead to a formal legislative or funding-condition mechanism, affecting how EU institutions engage with sports federations and host countries.
The Commission is expected to reply within approximately six weeks. Its answer will indicate whether it is open to expanding its role in sports governance beyond the current soft-power approach, or whether it considers the existing voluntary frameworks sufficient. The MEPs' initiative targets a gap in EU policy: while the EU has human-rights clauses in trade agreements, no equivalent mechanism exists for sporting events that receive EU funding or involve EU-based organisations.