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My presence here today, as well as the Attorney General, the Minister of Justice, and others, is the strongest indication that we support your work. The opening of your new offices is another important step in enhancing your effectiveness because, when we first met, I recall features [WE MENTIONED] that your work would be made more meaningful and effective by gaining independence in terms of your housing. So this development is decisive in making you much more effective.
Sport, from the earliest appearance of civilization, has been one of the most important elements in the constitution of society and in the education of young people, and not only. Healthy sport, especially in classical civilization, was a prerequisite for the moral and spiritual development of man, because through fair play man develops the competitive spirit, forges determination and self-mastery and learns respect for the rules and for his teammates and, by extension, for his fellow man.
It is precisely this sport that we want to promote, safeguard and foster through the Ethics and Sports Protection Committee. You have undertaken a very heavy burden and responsibility, not only towards Cypriot sport, but also towards Cypriot society in general.
Since 2021, when the Commission actually started its work, more than 100 serious cases have been investigated regarding incompatibility in sport, and obviously regarding corruption issues, which affect and plague the sporting world of our island.
Since 2021, when the Commission actually started its work, more than 100 serious cases regarding incompatibility in sport, and obviously regarding corruption issues, which affect and plague the sporting world of our island, have been investigated. And we have to be honest, to tell it like it is. There are such phenomena. If we do not recognize it, we will not be able to deal with it.
From these investigations and the findings that have emerged have produced significant findings and findings that, daily, in cooperation with the Attorney General, are exploited even at the level of criminal investigations, so that the corruption phenomena are stamped out and those responsible are brought to justice.
I firmly believe that the Commission can make a decisive contribution to the radical fight against the phenomena of rot and corruption that infect our sport. I strongly believe that through its work it can be a decisive factor in cleaning up the situation. This is why I have urged and encouraged the members of the Commission to rent the new offices that we are inaugurating today, so that the Commission can acquire a home to enable it to carry out its duties as the national platform of Cyprus.
In the context of strengthening the Commission's action and recognising the volume and importance of the work it has to carry out, we have also decided to increase the hours of the Commission's meetings from 40 to 60, which has helped significantly in strengthening and empowering the Commission.
In the context of strengthening the Commission's action and recognising the volume and importance of the work it has to carry out, we have also decided to increase the hours of the Commission's meetings from 40 to 60, which has helped significantly in strengthening and empowering the Commission. It is to prevent the pathologies facing our sport. Nobody wants us to get [TO THE POINT] of having these kinds of phenomena and then having to deal with them. The most important thing is that they don't happen, that there is that framework that prevents anyone [FROM] considering such an action, [AS IS SIMILARLY THE CASE] with one of the objectives of the Anti-Corruption Commission. Prevention is one of the most important facts.
Against this background, I am pleased to be informed of the completion of the proposals to amend the legislation relating to the Commission, which will make it even more efficient and beneficial in terms of the work it is called upon to produce. It is something that we are studying in cooperation with the Legal Service and of course the competent Ministry.
We should - and we want your help - pay particular attention to the implementation of preventive measures to prevent acts of manipulation of sports matches, a real scourge that exposes Cypriot sport and tarnishes the international reputation of the country.
The objective is clear, and therefore the Commission, through its right to investigate cases of suspicious betting activity on its own initiative, should [ENSURE THAT] it "gets to the heart of the matter". And this is not only my demand, or that of the Government, but that of the whole society.
I am confident that with hard work, full transparency and with partnerships, not only internally but also with international organisations - and you have such partnerships - dealing with this subject on a global scale, we will be able to create what we need most: a sport that is clean, away from illegal financial dependencies and activities. Together we can create a sporting arena that will provide our young people and society in particular with the conditions for an integrated education, social well-being and, above all, sporting success.
I would like to take advantage of my presence here today to assure you, once again, as I did at our meeting, that as a State we support your work and we will continue to stand by you, fully respecting the work you are doing and the independence of the Commission. This is your responsibility, but also mine - our obligation, the state's - in which we cannot afford to fail.
As a state, we are at your side, at your disposal, always respecting the independence of your work. Good business.
(PM/EATH/AF/EP)
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