Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept. 22 /Trend, M.Aliyev/
Ministers of youth and sports of European countries agreed in Baku to work on the simplification of visa procedures for athletes.
"During the conference in Baku, was mentioned a need of cooperation of government agencies in the field of youth and sports with the interior and foreign ministries to avoid this problem," Gabriella Battani-Dragoni, Council of Europe's Director General of Education, Culture and Heritage, Youth and Sport, told reporters on Wednesday.
Only in 2009 Europe hosted up to 600 events, on participation in which athletes spend up to 1 million euros. At the Baku conference, it was agreed to develop options for simplification of visa procedures.
Gabriella Battani-Dragoni believes that the next conference of ministers of youth and sport in Serbia will reach a final agreement on this issue.
The 18th informal conference of sports ministers of European countries ended in Baku on Wednesday. The conference, which takes place every two years, was attended by representatives of 36 European countries.