Brussels, 16/01/2006 (Agence Europe) - At the world ski flying championships in Kulm (Bad Mitterndorf, Austria) at the weekend, Austrian sports minister Karl Schweitzer met EU sports ministers, representatives of the European Commission and European sports delegates at an informal meeting (not part of the Austrian Presidency's official functions) at an international sports event. The participants discussed topics concerning European sports policy. Austria shared its experience and expertise in organising international sports events and European and world championships with the other participants, explaining security and leisure issues.
In Vienna on 10 January, Karl Schweitzer will outline the Austrian Presidency's priorities for sport. The Presidency will focus on sport and the economy (particularly the health economy), big sporting events, tourism, regard under the spotlight of demographic change and sport as an engine of growth. Schweitzer wants to set up information and documentation bases with uniform economic statistics and work with the results of the study commissioned by the European Commission on education systems for young sports people in Europe and mechanisms for getting sports people back into education or work once their sports career is over. The process of ratifying the international UNESCO anti-doping convention and harmonising anti-doping legislation will also figure in the Austrian Presidency's programme for the first half of 2006.