Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism, Sport, Media and Youth, recently announced the publication of the first ever EU sports policy paper based upon key components which include the societal role of sport, its economic dimension, the organisation of sport and cooperation with third countries and international organisations

This follows the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty on 1 December, 2009 which gave the European Union a competence in sports policy for the first time. This new competence is a positive step forward for the EU. However, one certainly cannot deny that the timing was not ideal due to the economic crisis. In fact, although sport now has a legal basis, there is no budget allocated to the sector.

The new policy was adopted by the European Commission on 18 January by means of a Communication entitled ‘Developing the European Dimension in Sport’. This communication builds on the achievements of the White Paper on Sport which the Commission had adopted in 2007 in order to gather views on the role of sport in Europe and EU action in this area. A number of proposals have been put forward.

Last year, leading sport officials met the European Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education and argued that sports organisations need the EU to tackle common challenges. Patrick Hickey, President of the European Olympic Committees, an association of national Olympic committees (NOCs) in Europe, insisted that existing EU programmes should pay more attention to sports. Michele Colucci, an expert on Sports Law, encouraged the EU to shift its attention towards amateurs and not only professionals and suggested an EU Sports Policy. Members of the European Parliament even backed the idea of setting up an ‘Erasmus Sports Programme’.

These proposals have been taken up by the European Commission in its Communication wherein the Commission proposes concrete action on education and training in sport, the fight against doping, addressing violence and intolerance and the sustainable financing of sport. Furthermore, the Communication addresses the promotion of fairness and openness in sporting competitions, cooperation between bodies responsible for sports, and the promotion of the physical and moral integrity of sportsmen and sportswomen. EU action in this field also aims to focus on health-enhancing physical activity, the promotion of voluntary activity and social inclusion in and through sport.

This Communication was welcomed by a wide range of major sport stakeholders. The Union of European Football Association (UEFA) and the European Sports Security Association (ESSA) are both seeking to cooperate closely with the Commission on several issues. The two associations claim that besides the issues tackled in the Commission’s Communication, urgent action needs to be taken on sport-related match fixing as it poses a serious threat to the integrity of sport. Moreover, ESSA has criticised the fact that this Communication failed to recognise other threats such as money laundering and transfer of young players across borders.

Locally, there has been a positive response to the Communication, in particular the recognition of both professional and amateur sports. In a statement, the Malta Basketball Association (MBA), a member of MEUSAC’s Sectoral Committee on Education, Youth, Culture and Sport, stated that “so far no big progress has been made to differentiate the implications of EU laws on amateur sports. While it is acceptable that the free movement of persons is to be taken into account while associations are legislating and preparing new rules, it is also fundamental to defend the interest of our nationals.” The MBA also called on the EU to “send clear indications on the free movement of persons in relation to amateur sports and to treat these cases as totally different from professional sport.”

The Malta EU Steering and Action Committee (MEUSAC), in collaboration with the Maltese Council for Sports, will be organising a consultation session on the European Commission’s Communication in the coming weeks. The session will be targeting various sport organisations. Further information will be published on MEUSAC’s official website (www.meusac.gov.mt).

MEUSAC has also assisted NGOs and local councils in various EU-funded projects involving youths in relation to the promotion of sports activities, and volunteering and social inclusion through sport.

Kurt Formosa is Executive-Consultation, MEUSAC