Brussels, 08/05/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 8 May, the European Parliament adopted the own initiative report by Manolis Mavrommatis (EPP-ED, Greece) by a large majority (518 for, 49 against with 9 abstentions). MEPs welcomed the adoption of the White Paper on Sport, presented by Commissioner Jan Figel last summer, and called on the Commission not to adopt a case-by-case approach, but rather to come up with clear guidelines on how to apply Community law in this sector. Self-regulation was deemed by MEPs to be the best way of resolving the issues specific to sport, they recommended a structured dialogue between politicians the sports movements to avoid legal uncertainties and respect the autonomy of the sports organisations.
The report, in its broad thrust, recommends: 1) combating racism and xenophobia. As the Commission before them, MEPs call on clubs and sports associations not to apply the “six-plus-five” rule proposed FIFA, the association football world governing body, which would require teams to field at least six players from the country where the team is based and no more than five foreigners. Thus, they call on member states and sports organisations not to bring in new rules which introduce direct discrimination based on nationality. Sports organisations are also called on to initiate campaigns against all forms of discrimination and racism, both inside and outside stadia. With regard to gender discrimination, MEPs regret that the White Paper does not take gender equality adequately into account, especially in equal pay. They call for rules to ban competitions which award women less valuable financial or other prizes. 2) Combating doping. Politicians, working in cooperation with sports bodies, should introduce measures to avoid extremely hectic sports calendars which put pressure on athletes. MEPs call on the Commission to adopt strict measures to end the trade in illegal drugs. Partnerships between bodies responsible for the application of the law, such as laboratories approved by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and Interpol should be established to facilitate the exchange of information on new drugs. 3) Deregulation of gambling markets. Concerned by the possible deregulation of lotteries and gambling markets, MEPs call on the Commission to assess the impact of such a development on society and sport. They believe that lottery profits should be used for purposes that are in the public interest, such as funding for amateur or professional sport, and call on the Commission and member states to prevent illegal gambling. 4) TV rights. In oerder to avoid the major clubs being the only ones to profit from the selling of rights, sports associations and leagues should introduce collective selling of media rights, so that there is an equitable redistribution of income among the clubs within and between the leagues and between professional and amateur sport. A percentage of the revenue from TV rights should be used to fund volunteer and non-profit sectors. The media should all have access to major sports events such as the Olympic Games, the World Cup and the European football Championship. 5) Combating human trafficking. Immigration legislation must be respected when attracting young talent to Europe. MEPs call on sports' governing bodies to subscribe to a European Charter for Solidarity and to abide the FIFA regulations banning transfers of players aged under 16 within the EU. Rules covering players agents should also be tightened up, MEPs say.
The Conservative group believes that European institution interference in the world of sport “will harm the enjoyment of fans and waste money through additional administrative burdens”. The Socialists welcome the encouragement to tackle corruption, doping and financial irregularities. The Liberals say that Parliament has given a clear signal on compliance with European economic and social law. Like the French Socialists, they are pleased that Parliament has come out in favour of collective selling of media rights. Self-regulation, they feel, is the best option in the area of sports. Green MEP Jean-Luc Bennhamias says the EP has carried out a “considerable and necessary” piece of work. The Commission, through Commissioner Figel, welcomed the adoption of the report which follows the broad thrust of the White Paper, and announced a series of events and conferences on sport in 2008. Three reports in preparation, on sports funding, voluntary action and players' agents, will also be published in the course of this year. (I.L.)