Brussels, 11/06/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 10 June, Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Sport and President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Jacques Rogge held a meeting at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne. They both underlined the benefits of their “excellent co-operation” and the importance of pursuing the dialogue on the same annual basis. The commissioner stated: “I am very grateful to Jacques Rogge and the representatives from the international and European Olympic movement for their support over the years. The IOC is a very valuable partner for the EU and establishing an annual dialogue will allow us to build on this special relationship”. After the meeting Rogge affirmed that “now is the time to work towards the strengthening of sport in Europe. Our meeting was very productive and gave us the opportunity to discuss how we can mainstream the social role of sport in various fields and, at the same time fight the threats to sport's integrity, such as doping and irregular betting”.
Commissioner Vassiliou and the representatives of the Olympic Movement exchanged ideas about the European Commission communication, “Developing the European Dimension in Sport” (2011-2014), which lists the measures the Commission is proposing to take in sport, in particular to address the societal, economic and organisational dimensions of sport. The meeting was arranged as part of the regular dialogue between European institutions and representatives from European sports organisations since sport fell within the Community area of responsibility with terh entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty. Commissioner Vassiliou presented the details of the communication on sport to the representatives of the Olympic Movement who welcomed the Commission's support for the collective selling of media rights as a means of ensuring financial solidarity and putting in place redistribution mechanisms within sport. They also praised the Commission's approach to the protection of intellectual property rights owned by sports organisations, which are an important revenue source for sport. In addition, support was expressed for the Commission's intention to further define the specific nature of sport. The representatives of the Olympic Movement expressed concern, however, that a new dedicated EU funding programme for sport has been put on hold and underlined the importance of a specific budget line for the promotion of the societal role of sport, especially at grassroots level. Rogge took the opportunity to update Commissioner Vassiliou on the Olympic Movement's latest initiatives in the fields of good governance, irregular betting and athletes' career management- areas that are also addressed in the EU communication paper. The partners also exchanged views about the organisation of a European Week of Sport, scheduled for 2015. Rogge suggested that the event should build on existing initiatives, such as the “Olympic Day”, celebrated by the Olympic Movement each year on 23 June. Both agreed to work together closely on the initiative and to seek the support and commitment of all relevant stakeholders in order to make this event a success. The Commissioner also informed the IOC President about a proposal for a Council recommendation on health-enhancing physical activity (HEPA), due to be unveiled later this year. (IL/transl.fl)