Brussels, 11/07/2007 (Agence Europe) - As expected, on Wednesday, the European Commission adopted its White Paper on sport. This is the first initiative of its kind to acknowledge the social and economic importance of sport, and also its specificity. The European Union does not have exclusive competence in sport, but many Community policies have an impact on the various sporting disciplines. The White Paper, which has no legal force, seeks to provide strategic guidance, to consider the issues peculiar to sport, to give it greater visibility and to raise awareness among decision-makers and the general public of the various practices in the sports sector, said Commissioner Jan Figel, presenting the White Paper to the press. The document also seeks to bring greater legal clarity by taking stock of European Court of Justice case law and Commission decisions on sports. Centred on three points (economic impact, societal role and organisation), the contents of the White Paper have already been widely covered in our newsletter (see EUROPE 9458).
While the European Commission welcomed this document, the fruit, it stressed, of wide consultation since June 2006, with UEFA, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and national Olympic committees, some people are already complaining about European Union interference in the organisation of sports events by trying to subject these event to Community rules. “Those taking part in the discussions come from different starting points, so it is normal to have differing positions on the role of sport,” said Mr Figel. He denied trying to force sport to comply strictly with Community law (competition and internal market), but warned that “specificity does not mean exemption by category”. “We have tried to find a balance but we will not give free rein on the pretext that sport is diversity”. However, “we mustn't draw a demarcation line,” he stressed in response to a question from a journalist asking where the line had to be drawn between full compliance with European rules and the greatest freedom. “Sport is Diversity, with a capital “D”. … We must continue to favour a case-by-case approach,” he went on. The football world, with its massive economic dimension, must, for example, abide by the rules of the Treaty, notably on free movement of players and competition, but “if there is no serious infringement of the Treaty, economic activity remains free,” he said, while noting that he would remain “very vigilant”. “We should simply adjust the transparency of the transfer of players; we must count on reciprocal confidence between leagues,” he added. This neither-one-thing-nor-the-other attitude has annoyed sports associations. Even before the publication of the White Paper, they had already described it as “timid and indecisive”: “The White Paper maintains that every sport's rule can only be judged on a case-by-case basis by EU judges and leaves the European Court to make the Law,” they complained in a letter sent to competent Community authorities.
The White Paper will guide the Commission in its sports-related activities over the next few years. It has been sent to the European Parliament, the Council the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. The conclusions will, moreover, be presented to sports ministers, and a conference involving stakeholders in the sector will be held in October. (il)