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Talking at the final press conference, IOC President Jacques ROGGE (BEL) said he was, 'pleased to see the UNESCO International Convention Against Doping in Sport has been adopted unanimously, which shows that doping issues are dealt with seriously and that things are moving in the right direction.'

The fight against doping was of course on the agenda of the EB meeting. The IOC Anti-Doping Rules that will be used during the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games were approved, and it was confirmed that in Turin, the number of tests will increase by 45% compared to Salt Lake City. Some 1,200 tests will be conducted during the entire period of the Games, from the opening of the Olympic Village at the end of January until the Closing Ceremony on 26 February. The tests will check for all substances present on the 2006 List of Prohibited Substances issued by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Over the last two days, the EB met with the Executive Council of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), as well as the IOC Athletes' Commission. It also heard updates on the preparations of the Olympic Games in Beijing 2008 and London 2012, where the Olympic Sailing Competitions will be held in Qingdao and Weymouth respectively, as well as reports on the IOC administration and various commissions' fields of activities, including relations with National Olympic Committees (NOCs), marketing, finance, technology, legal affairs, medical issues, sports, ethics, communications, TV rights and international cooperation.

On the Olympic programme, the IOC President explained that a consultation process had been launched in recognition of the fact that the system used to review the programme could be improved, and that he had asked the associations of Olympic and Recognised International Sports Federations, National Olympic Committees, and the Athletes' Commission to make proposals. These proposals will be harmonised by the Olympic Programme Commission, which will submit a report to the EB at the end of 2006. Eventual changes would then be proposed to the Session in Guatemala City in 2007.

During its meeting, the EB took a number of decisions for the events of the Beijing Games. These will lead to an increase in the number of female athletes taking part in the Games.

The EB will next meet from 5-7 February in Turin, Italy prior to the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games.