Pat Hickey, the president of the Olympic Council of Ireland, has criticised the European Union for their failure to include an Article on Sport in their Treaty. Speaking at the opening of the European Youth Olympic Days in Murcia, Spain, Hickey regretted the reticence on the EU's part to take a responsibility for sport in Europe.

As current European Olympic Committee vice-president and a candidate to replace Dr Jacques Rogge - the new IOC president - as the European president, Hickey said he was still hopeful that the EU and EOC could enjoy a successful relationship.

"We have had many meetings over the years," he said. "There has been much talk, but little action. There is one basic component which the EU can well deliver and that is money. Money is the life-blood for sports.

"Unfortunately, the EU is like a gold-mine surrounded by a huge thick forest, with advisers at the forest perimeter directing people to impenetrable, impassible highways to the mine."

Hickey went on: "It is clear to me that the EOC and the other interested bodies are going to have a major problem in inducing the EU to play a more responsible, dynamic part in promoting sport among the 15 (EU member countries) apart altogether from the other 33 countries in Europe outside the EU.

"The EU also seems to have major problems in implementing their sports laws. They introduce (laws) and when they do not work or create problems and conflict, submit them to the European Court of Justice, which strives to arrive at compromises or dilute the intended effectiveness of law.

"We in the IOC must keep chipping away at the EU to try to get an Article on Sport introduced. By adopting this policy, and with the support of Jacques Rogge, the future looks bright for us to succeed."

In opening the sixth EYOD, where Ireland are represented in six events, Rogge also warned that the IOC could lose out unless they liaise closely with the EU.

Fearing the banning of alcohol sponsorship - to add to the forbidding of nicotine advertising - Rogge said: "There is a great danger that it would cause problems so we are lobbying at the highest level. That lack of sponsorship would affect the EOC. That's what we're trying to prevent."

Rogge yesterday handed Switzerland's Denis Oswald the task of masterminding the 2004 Olympics. Oswald, president of the International Rowing Federation (FISA) and of the Association of International Olympic Sports Federations, was named to head the co-ordination committee for the Athens Olympics.