The European Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education (CULT) will discuss the draft report by Tomasz Frankowski (EPP, Poland) on EU sports policy on Tuesday 31 August.
More than 10 years after the EU was granted support in this area, Mr Frankowski, himself a former professional footballer, believes it could go further.
Firstly, he calls on the European institutions to “step up [their] efforts” to “mainstream” sports issues into the various policies of the Union.
EU action in areas such as health, employment, education, the internal market, and the environment must also “benefit” sport, he insisted, calling for a European Commission communication on the future of sport linked to the EU’s strategic objectives.
More resources. In addition to these requests, there are of course some recommendations concerning the funding of the sector —which “need to further increase”, writes Mr Frankowski.
Thus, while the rapporteur welcomes the fact that the Erasmus+ programme budget—of which 1.9% is dedicated to sport—will be more substantial for the period 2021-2027 (see EUROPE 12622/27), he notes that “given the social and economic importance of sport, any future review of the programme should treat sport on an equal budgetary footing with other priorities, such as youth and culture”.
According to a study cited in the report and carried out in 2021 by the Parliament’s services, sport generates an added value of €279.7 billion, or 2.12% of the EU’s GDP, and employs around 6 million people. This is an economic impact that the rapporteur would like to see better documented by the Commission and the Member States.
A more “inclusive and equal” sector. Mr Frankowski also makes a number of recommendations for the future of the sector, with a view to greater inclusiveness and equality.
He “urges”, for example, the EU Council and the Commission to sign and ratify the convention adopted in 2014 by the Council of Europe on the manipulation of sports competitions.
The MEP also calls for efforts to be made to include people with disabilities, ethnic minorities, and the LGBTIQ+ community, and calls on the Commission and the EU27 to ensure that sport policy promotes gender equality. This is done "with particular attention to media coverage, remuneration gaps, award disparities, and harassment”, says the rapporteur. He also advocates greater diversity in leadership positions.
Lastly, it is worth noting the proposal, addressed to both the Commission and the EU27, to create a system for recognising the qualifications acquired by volunteers, who are essential to the sector and who should, in the rapporteur’s view, “their skills and experience should be formally recognised”.
To consult the draft report: https://bit.ly/2Y55EbP (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)