on the White Paper on Sport

(2007/2261(INI))

The European Parliament,

–       having regard to Article 6 and 149 of the Lisbon Treaty concerning the EU contribution to the promotion of European sporting issues, while taking into account the specific nature of sport, its structures based on voluntary activity and its social and educational function,

–       having regard to the White Paper on Sport (COM(2007)0391),

–       having regard to the Helsinki report of December 1999 and the Nice Declaration of December 2000 on the specific characteristics of sport and its social function in Europe,

–       having regard to the UK Presidency's initiative in respect of European football which led to the drawing up of the 'Independent European Sport Review 2006',

–       having regard to the case law developed by the European Court of Justice, the Court of the First Instance and Commission decisions on issues relating to sport,

–       having regard to Council Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin⁽¹⁾, which prohibits all forms on racial discrimination in the areas of employment, education, social security, health care and access to goods and services,

–       having regard to Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation⁽²⁾,

–       having regard to its resolutions of 13 June 1997 on the role of the European Union in the field of sport⁽³⁾ and of 5 June 2003 on women and sport⁽⁴⁾,

–       having regard to its resolution of 29 March 2007 on the future of professional football in Europe⁽⁵⁾,

–       having regard to its resolution of 13 November 2007 on the role of sport in education⁽⁶⁾,

–       having regard to its resolution of 14 April 2005 on doping in sport⁽⁷⁾,

–       having regard to its resolution of 14 March 2006 on tackling racism in football⁽⁸⁾,

–       having regard to the World Anti-Doping Code of 2003 and its revision in 2007,

–       having regard to the report and the conclusions of Europe’s first conference on the Governance of Sport 'The rules of the Game' (Brussels, 26-27 February 2001),

–       having regard to the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Commission and FIFA in 2006 to make football a force for development in the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries,

-–     having regard to the experience gained from the European Year of Education through Sport (2004) and the recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 on key competences for life-long learning,

–       having regard to the role of sport in promoting integration and its potential contribution to social cohesion and the internal cohesion of the regions,

–       having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure,

–       having regard to the report of the Committee on Culture and Education and the opinions of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, the Committee on Regional Development, the Committee on Legal Affairs, the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (A6-0149/2008),

A.     whereas European sport is an inalienable part of European identity, European culture and citizenship, and whereas European sport is based upon the commitment and the enthusiasm of millions of athletes, volunteers and supporters who are active in a large number of sports clubs and federations, a broad movement that has created many outstanding sportswomen, sportsmen and sports teams and that has made sport a highly valued aspect of our society, in which sporting events are extremely popular,

B.     whereas sport plays a very important role in European society, parts of competition sport, however, are confronted with new threats and challenges, such as commercial pressure, the exploitation of young players and sportsmen and sportswomen, doping, racism, violence, match fixing, corruption, betting fraud and money laundering,

C.     whereas sport has a special role in society as an instrument of social inclusion and integration, and whereas sport constitutes an important instrument for promoting intercultural dialogue and makes an outstanding contribution to the development and promotion of important societal, cultural and educational values, such as fairness, solidarity, respect for rules, team spirit, and self-discipline; whereas sport plays a particularly important role in European society in terms of health, education, social integration and cultural values, thanks to organisations structured on voluntary lines,

D.     whereas under Article 149 of the Lisbon Treaty, EU action shall be aimed at developing the European dimension in sport, by promoting fairness and openness in sporting competitions and cooperation between bodies responsible for sport, and by protecting the physical and moral integrity of sportsmen and sportswomen, especially the youngest sportsmen and sportswomen; whereas action at EU level should complement that taken by other actors without changing the existing allocation of competences,

E.     whereas, with a view to the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty and Article 149 thereof, the role of sport in Europe must be given strategic direction by clarifying the application of Community law to sport; whereas a case-by-case approach to deal with the specificity of sport is unsatisfactory from the perspective of sports organisations which will entrench existing legal uncertainty, and whereas there must be further sports-related action at EU level while respecting the autonomy, specificity and self-regulation of sports organisations;

F.     whereas Article 149 of the Lisbon Treaty calls on the Community to promote fairness and openness in sporting competitions, and whereas the application of competition rules to sport is leading to a widening gap between sports clubs to the advantage of the richest, which is harmful to the fair conduct of sporting competitions and therefore contradicts the objective laid down in the aforementioned Article 149,

G.     whereas account must be taken of the independence of sports organisations and representative bodies such as those organising professional championships, together with the fact that organisational responsibility weighs principally on the governing boards of sports bodies and, to a certain extent, on the Member States and social partners,

H.     whereas professional sport is constantly gaining in importance and is helping to enhance the role of sport within society; whereas competition law and internal market provisions apply to professional sport to the extent that it constitutes an economic activity;

I.      whereas sport falls within the scope of EU law, notably with regard to the principle of representative and participatory democracy in the decision-making bodies of European sports institutions and Article 13 of the EC Treaty, which prohibits discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation; whereas there are certain instances, in view of the specific characteristics and essential and singular features of sport for which it cannot be compared with an ordinary economic activity;

J.      whereas voluntary activities in the sporting sector strengthen social cohesion and inclusion and promote local democracy and active citizenship and also have an implicit economic value, as without volunteers sporting activities would come at a much higher cost and many of the social activities related to sport would disappear; whereas there is a need to promote voluntary sports structures and to encourage voluntary services in sport by means of measures providing appropriate protection for and acknowledging the economic and social role of volunteers,

K.     whereas a lack of physical exercise leads to an increase in cases of obesity and chronic conditions, such as cardio-vascular diseases and diabetes, and as a consequence this puts a burden on the health budgets of Member States,

L.     whereas the number of hours of physical education in both primary and secondary schools has declined over the last decade, and whereas there are major differences between Member States with regard to sporting facilities and the stock of equipment; whereas sport offers young people welcome opportunities for participation and personal commitment within society and can help to steer them away from delinquency,

M.    whereas doping undermines the principle of transparent and fair competition and puts sportsmen and sportswomen under unreasonable pressure,

N.     whereas the 2003 World Anti-Doping Code has succeeded in becoming a model for the harmonisation of national legislation worldwide; whereas efforts deployed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), however, are mainly focused on sport at the top level,

O.     whereas the Union would benefit from a more coordinated approach in the fight against doping, in particular by defining common positions in relation to WADA, Unesco and the Council of Europe, and through the exchange of information and good practice between governments, national anti-doping organisations and laboratories,

P.     whereas, despite some progress having been made in the area of gender equality at European level, inequities between men and women in sports persist; whereas training systems for talented young sportsmen and sportswomen should be open to all and must not lead to discrimination between EU citizens and residents based on nationality or gender,

Q.     whereas all residents should have access to sport and the specific needs of some groups therefore need to be addressed, such as people with disabilities, immigrants and people from less privileged backgrounds, and whereas, in particular, disabled sportspeople must not suffer discrimination compared to their able-bodied counterparts as regards equal access to sport within the Member States,

R.     whereas sport is intended for all citizens, regardless of gender, race, age, disability, religion, nationality, sexual orientation and social or economic background; whereas sport can be a force for social inclusion and integration, and whereas the Commission has repeatedly condemned all displays of violence, racism and xenophobia,

S.     whereas violence during sporting events remains an unresolved problem and can take various different forms; whereas major sporting events attract prostitution and trafficking in women and children throughout their duration,,

T.     whereas according to a study presented during the Austrian Presidency in 2006, sport generated added value of € 407 billion in 2004, accounting for 3.7% of EU GDP and providing employment for 15 million people or 5.4% of the labour force; whereas sport, thus, contributes to the Lisbon objectives of growth and job creation and serves as a tool for local, regional and rural development, and whereas it can also have synergies with tourist development through the upgrading of infrastructures and the emergence of partnerships for financing sport and leisure facilities,

U.     whereas growing digital piracy (and in particular the unauthorised live and re-transmission of sports events) is a major threat to the sporting sector, though there is little awareness of the problem,

V.     whereas the overwhelming majority of sporting activities are run on non-profit-making lines and many of them depend on financial support to ensure that they are accessible to all; whereas financial support is important for grass-roots sport and sport for all, subject to compliance with Community law ; whereas organised sport in almost all EU Member States is built on specific non-profit making governing structures at grass-roots level, heavily reliant on the commitment of volunteers, with specific forms of legal personality or status that provide the preconditions for a range of financial and fiscal advantages,

W.    whereas Member States have not clearly defined what sport is, and have not clarified whether or not it is a service of general interest which justifies financial benefits (for example tax relief),

X.     whereas the amount of donations and government funds is decreasing, and whereas in order to survive, the majority of non-profit sports organisations need to raise revenues from some kind of commercial activity, enabling them to fulfil effectively their social goals, and therefore these organisations are subject to EU law,

Y.     whereas sports organisations have many sources of income, such as club fees and ticket sales, advertising and sponsorship, lotteries, media rights, re-distribution of income within the sports federations and leagues, merchandising, public support, with revenues generated by state-owned or state-licensed lotteries and gambling operators being by far the largest source of income in many Member States,

Z.     whereas media rights are the primary source of income for professional sport in Europe, income which is inter alia, also reinvested in grass-roots training, facilities and community projects, and sport events are a popular source of content for many media operators,

AA.  whereas sports organisations in the European Union consider as indispensable the contribution made to the financing of non-professional sport by state-run lotteries and licensed gambling bodies operating in the general interest; whereas no other sustainable and politically feasible solution has so far been either proposed or seriously discussed to make up for the substantial losses from these sources of financing to be expected if profit-making enterprises were authorised to operate in Member States which have thus far applied restrictive gambling policies,

AB.  whereas sports betting activities have developed in an uncontrolled manner (particularly cross-border betting on the Internet), whereas a growing number of matches have been fixed and whereas betting-related scandals have recently come to light in EU Member States, threatening the integrity of sport and sporting competitions,

AC.  whereas the economic and social developments common to most Member States such as growing commercialisation, incitements to public spending and the growing number of participants, the number of volunteers remaining unchanged, have created fresh challenges regarding the organisation of sports in Europe,

AD.  whereas national teams play an important role not only by establishing their own credentials but also by ensuring solidarity with sport at grass-roots level and therefore deserve support,

AE.   whereas the development of a truly European market for sportsmen and sportswomen and players and the rise in the level of their salaries in some professional sports have resulted in an increase in the activities of players' agents, and whereas for this reason there is a need in the Member States for specific training of sports managers and players' agents,

AF.   whereas the sector's high degree of internationalisation has led to cross-border corruption in the sporting sector; when governing bodies face cross-border corruption problems with a European dimension they should be able to call on the Commission for assistance if and when it is needed,

AG.  whereas licensing systems, approved by the respective competition organisers, aim to ensure that all professional clubs respect the same basic rules on financial management and transparency and whereas they should be compatible with competition and internal market provisions and should not go beyond what is necessary to achieve a legitimate objective relating to the proper organisation and conduct of sport,

AH.  whereas, by the very nature of organised sports and sporting structures at European level are as a rule less developed than at national and international level, while sport at European level is organised continent-wide and not at the level of the European Union of 27,

AI.    whereas the above-mentioned White Paper refers frequently to the mainstreaming of sport within European funding programmes, and whereas the Union shall also take the sporting dimension into account when it acts, in particular in order to respect the autonomy, specificity and self-regulation of sports organisations and to promote sport at European level; whereas the outcome of a structured dialogue between all stakeholders is very important in understanding the special nature of sport,

AJ.   whereas the Commission has decided to make health-enhancing physical activity a cornerstone of its sport-related activities; whereas the Council of Europe has demonstrated an innovative and effective dialogue with the sports movement in Europe, bringing together governmental and non-governmental sports stakeholders in its meetings,

AK.  whereas social dialogue at European level may allay the concerns shared by employers and sportsmen and sportswomen and include examination of agreements concerning relations between them and working conditions in the sector,

AL.   whereas sport can contribute to various aspects of the EU’s external relations in the context of external aid programmes, contributing to dialogue with partner countries in the framework of EU public diplomacy,

AM. whereas European sports organisation, the organisers of sports events and all bodies responsible must set themselves environmental objectives with a view to ensuring the environmental sustainability of their activities,

The organisation of sport

1.      Welcomes the publication of the White Paper on Sport and hopes that it serves as a basis for the sports world and the Commission to engage in a fruitful and continuous dialogue; appreciates the importance the Commission attaches to sport by adopting this White Paper;

2.      Welcomes the fact that Member States recognised sport officially in the Lisbon Treaty in order to establish a consistent future European policy in this sector; while taking into account the specific nature of sport, its structures based on voluntary activity and its social and educational function while enabling the Commission to promote and complement – but not to regulate – the actions of Member States and sports organisations; notes that existing structures for sport in Europe are based on the principle of nationality;

3.      Asks the Commission to have due respect for the specificity of sports, by not taking a case-by-case approach and to provide more legal certainty by creating clear guidelines on the applicability of European law to sports in Europe and by supporting studies and seminars on the concrete application of the 'acquis communautaire' on sport; invites the Commission to ensure clarity, coherence and public visibility of EU rules, so that sports services of general interest can fulfil their objectives and contribute to a better quality of life for European citizens; further asks the Commission to monitor and regularly review the application of EU law in accordance with the EC Treaty to take account of new realities so as to identify and solve pending or emerging issues;

4.      Agrees with the Commission that most challenges can be addressed through self-regulation in line with good governance principles, provided that EU law is respected; believes a structured partnership and dialogue between the Commission and the sports movement is essential for the good governance of sport and for avoiding legal uncertainty in respect of autonomy and self-regulation of sports organisations; agrees with the Commission regarding the holding of a structured dialogue in two parts: (a) annual European sports forum attended by all those involved in sports and (b) thematic discussions with a limited number of participants;

5.      Welcomes the participation of the following in the structured dialogue:

-            European sports federations,

-            European interdisciplinary sports organisations, in particular the European National Olympic committees, the European Paralympic Committee, (EPC), Special Olympics and European non-governmental sports organisations,

-            national interdisciplinary sports organisations and national Olympic and Paralympic committees,

-            others involved in sports represented at European level, including the social partners,

-            other European and international organisations, in particular the sports bodies of the Council of Europe sports organisations and UN bodies such as Unesco and the WTO;

6.      Takes the view that a sport body is free to govern its sport where its rules are purely sporting ones, but where they involve restrictions, these must be proportionate, that is, reasonably necessary to achieve their sporting objective(s);

7.      Agrees with the Commission and acknowledges the specificity of professional sport and the autonomy of their representative structures, i.e. the leagues, as organisers of professional championships at a national level and employers’ representatives, i.e. the leagues, as well as their representative associations at the European level, in compliance with EU law;

8.      Recommends that the specific associations for the different categories of persons involved in sport (players, trainers or coaches, referees, etc.) should all be appropriately represented in the decision-making bodies of international and national federations;

9.      Takes the view that, owing to the large-scale movement of capital in the context of transfers, financial transactions should be conducted openly and transparently between all parties involved and believes that, depending on the sport, the system should be run by the relevant governing body;

10.    Stresses the importance of volunteer work in the field of sport in that it acts as a major factor in stimulating and promoting social integration and greater awareness among young people; calls on the Member States and the Commission to give more encouragement to volunteer initiatives with regard to sport and sports organisations in the context of policy-making at national and European level;

11.    Asks Member States and sports governing bodies to actively promote the social and democratic role of fans by supporting the creation and development of supporters' federations and promoting their involvement in the management and administration of games; believes that the Supporters Direct initiative serves as an example of best practice in this respect and calls on the Commission, the Member States and the sports governing bodies to promote its dissemination;

12.    Calls on the Commission to promote stronger involvement of non-governmental sports organisations in the dialogue between the Member States and the Commission by organising governmental meetings together with the non-governmental sports organisations akin to ministerial or sport director meetings or the Commission’s working group meetings;

13.    Welcomes the Memorandum signed by France and the Netherlands on the White Paper on Sport and invites the Commission to clarify the status of sport in EU law with regard to specific points, such as the composition of teams, the status of players' agents, audiovisual rights etc.;

14.    Calls on the Commission, when pursuing the new structured dialogue, to pay particular heed to the Committee of the Regions, taking into account its contribution at regional and local levels to the supervision and implementation of the measures set out in the White Paper on Sport;

15.    Calls on UEFA and FIFA to accept in their statutes the right to have recourse to ordinary courts, but recognises that the principle of self-regulation by national authorities, leagues and competitions underpins and justifies the structures of the European sport model and the fundamental principles governing the organisation of sport competitions;

16.    Encourages the Commission to promote the implementation and strengthening of self-regulatory licensing systems at national and European level in order to increase good governance and to create a level playing field concerning financial transparency and stability; recommends that measures should be taken that lead to achieve financial transparency and cost control in European sport, to ensure not only stability but also a level playing field among European competitors in the sports sector, to prevent 'financial doping' from deciding European sport events; recognises the benefit of organisers of national and European competitions granting licences to professional clubs to ensure that those clubs have the necessary structure and meet the required material conditions for taking part in competitions;

17.    Calls on EU national sports federations and European sports organisations to ensure that their procedures for licensing sports associations comply with the basic principles of financial transparency, are non-discriminatory and are in accordance with basic internal market provisions and principles, so as to curb distortions of competition; considers that sports organisations must ensure that the requirements regarding transparency and licensing are complied with and that non-compliance is punished;

18.    Welcomes the Commission's proposal to hold a conference with UEFA, EPFL, Fifpro, the national associations and national bodies responsible for organising professional football events in order to discuss licensing arrangements and best practices within this specific domain;

Doping

19.    Requests Member States to agree on a common legislative approach towards doping in order to ensure similar legal treatment in all Member States and to define common positions in relation to WADA, Unesco and the Council of Europe; calls on those Member States that have not yet singed the Unesco convention against doping in sport to do so;

20.    Calls on the Union, as a member of WADA, with a view to combating doping, in the first instance to reinforce existing networks, and only then to develop new partnerships between law enforcement agencies, laboratories accredited by WADA, Europol and INTERPOL to exchange information about new doping substances and practices in a timely manner and in a secure environment;

21.    Invites the Commission to implement actions nos. 4 and 5 of the 'Pierre de Coubertin' Action Plan so as to promote the development of partnerships between Member State law enforcement agencies, laboratories accredited by WADA and INTERPOL to exchange information about new doping substances and practices in a timely manner and in a secure environment, and to facilitate and support actively the creation of a network of national anti-doping organisations of Member States;

22.    Urges Member States to treat the trade in illegal doping substances in the same manner as the trade in illicit drugs and to adjust their national legislation accordingly; and invites the Commission to reflect on how to take this recommendation, made in the White Paper further;

23.    Calls for a policy aimed at preventing and combating doping that includes avoiding excessively busy schedules that put pressure on athletes; stresses the need to fight irregularities through checks, research, testing, long-term monitoring by independent doctors and through education and, at the same time, prevention and training; calls on professional clubs and sports organisations to adopt a pledge to combat doping and to monitor compliance through internal and external independent check;

24.    Requests the development of an action plan on the fight against doping in the run-up to the next Olympics scheduled to take place in the EU (London 2012);

25.    Requests that funding be made available for research on doping through the Framework Programme on Research, the Public Health Programme;

26.    Calls on the Member States to ensure more comprehensive information and education for young sports competitors regarding performance-enhancing drugs, prescriptions which may contain them and their effect on health;

Education, young people and health

27.    Stresses the role of sport in education, teaching young people the values of tolerance, honesty and respect for the rules of fair play, and health care prevention, in particular efforts to tackle obesity;

28.    Refers in this respect to the task of the Union, conferred on it by the Lisbon Treaty, of protecting the physical and moral integrity of the youngest sportsmen and sportswomen in particular;

29.    Welcomes the Commission proposal to promote sport and physical exercise as major factors regarding education standards, so as to make schools more attractive and improve academic standards; supports the Commission's recommendations to the Member States to develop strategies at national level which, under the educational programmes, would seek to increase and enhance children's and schoolchildren's physical activity from a very early age; emphasises the importance of funding physical activity in schools, which is fundamental to the psychological and physical growth of the youngest children, as well as being a major healthcare instrument for the young not-so less young;

30.    Calls on the Member States to encourage further measures to promote sport and physical exercise as a major factor in raising national education standards and make full use of the opportunities offered by community programmes regarding mobility at all levels of education, vocational training and lifelong learning;

31.    Recommends that Member States recognise the need to provide ‘dual career’ training for young sportsmen and sportswomen – with special attention to the education of the youngest – for which purpose stricter supervision and regular checks on training are required so that its quality can be guaranteed and to provide high quality local training centres to safeguard their moral, educational and professional interests;

32.    Calls on the Commission and the Member States to step up preventative measures and health checks for young sportspeople and ensure that all the rights enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child are respected;

33.    Welcomes the Commission proposal regarding the award of a European prize to schools actively supporting and promoting physical exercise as part of the curriculum;

34.    Agrees with the Commission that investment in young talented sportsmen and sportswomen is crucial for the sustainable development of sport and believes there is a real challenge for the sports movement to ensure the local training of players; believes the UEFA home-grown rule can serve as an example to other federations, leagues and clubs;

35.    Calls on the Commission to recognise the legality of measures favouring the promotion of players who have come through training schemes, such as a minimum number of locally-trained players, irrespective of their nationality, on the professional staff;

36.    Calls on the Commission and the Member States to combat the exploitation of girls and boys in sports and child trafficking by strictly enforcing existing laws and rules; suggests that a higher level of legal security, in particular in the application of the 'home-grown players rule', is desirable;

37.    Deplores the practice of Member State governments selling school playing-fields for development; considers that Member States should be encouraged to ensure that children have sufficient facilities to engage in sports and physical activities at school; invites the Member States to facilitate free access for people under 14 to all national and international competitions;

38.    Given the need to adopt a horizontal approach to questions concerning the protection of the environment and health, recommends that the Commission encourage the promotion of environmental and health protection during European sporting events; welcomes the Commission decision to promote green procurement in its political dialogue with the Member States and other concerned parties;

39.    Acknowledges the importance of sport in health protection and for this reason recommends that the owners of the broadcasting rights promote sport with this objective in mind;

40.    Points out that the link between sport and health is an important consideration, so that cooperation between sports organisations or associations and health funds and doctors has become an increasingly common practice which represents an enormous added value for health care services and, at the same time, a financial saving; and considers it crucial that young people are educated to become aware of the importance of healthy food, under the circumstances of an inter-relationship between food and physical exercise, through Europe-wide events, such as 'E-free Food Day';

41.    Stresses the importance of physical exercise and sport in curbing obesity and eliminating unhealthy lifestyle habits, since this phenomenon has a significant positive impact on citizens' health on the one hand and as regards reducing the cost of health insurance funds on the other; expresses, however, concern at the fact that the extension of working hours and existing employment conditions in general deter workers from taking regular exercise and devoting themselves more single-mindedly to sport; calls on the Commission to develop and issue, together with sport federations, European guidelines and recommendations on physical activity before the end of 2008;

42.    Invites the Member States to create the framework for organising European School Championships and European University Championships, in order to prepare young people for performing and to encourage intercultural dialogue;

Social inclusion and anti-discrimination

43.    Stresses that sport is one of the most effective tools for social integration and, as such, should be promoted and supported by the European Union to a greater extent, e.g. through special programmes for organisers of European, national and local sporting and recreational events; considers that these opportunities should be extended, in particular, to organisers of sporting events that promote integration and involve disabled people; considers that within the context of the 2008 European Year of Intercultural Dialogue, particular attention must be given to the role of sport as the ultimate arena for intercultural co-existence and a cornerstone for dialogue and cooperation with third countries;

44.    Calls on the Commission and the Member States to regard sport not only as a prerogative of the normally able-bodied, but also as an important instrument for the rehabilitation and social inclusion of people with disabilities; in this context, urges the Commission and the Member States to support practical measures and initiatives to promote greater integration of disabled participants into traditional sporting disciplines;

45.    Welcomes the Commission’s initiative to encourage the sports organisations and the Member States to adapt sports’ and schools’ infrastructure to the needs of disabled people and demands an easier way for physical education teachers to acquire kinetotherapy and physical therapy studies, thus enabling them to work with partially disabled students, according to the conditions they have;

46.    Welcomes the decision of the Commission and Member States to support further measures for persons with disabilities; urges the Commission to ensure that all social entitlements earmarked for sportspeople are equally accessible to their disabled counterparts;

47.    Welcomes the Commission's comprehensive White Paper on Sport; regrets, however, that the gender aspect is not adequately taken into account, especially regarding equal pay for equal value and the fact that female athletes earn less than their male counterparts;

48.    Welcomes the Commission’s intention to introduce gender mainstreaming in all its sports-related activities, with a specific focus on access to sport for immigrant women and women from ethnic minorities, women's access to decision-making positions in sport and media coverage of women in sport;

49.    Calls on the Member States to encourage media coverage of women’s sporting activities in order to foster the emergence of female role models and overcome gender stereotyping;

50.    Calls on the Member States progressively to adapt their sport infrastructure to take into account the needs of people, and especially children, with disabilities, but also the elderly and women, in view of the increase in active life expectancy and the importance of sport in supporting physical and mental health, as regards access to such infrastructure, and to learn from best practice in this area; calls on the Member States to monitor the use of public funds earmarked for sport and to check that these are allocated equally to the needs of sportswomen and sportsmen;

51.    Stresses the particularly important role of sports for the social inclusion of those from less privileged backgrounds, in particular migrants; calls on the Member States in this connection to incorporate sports activities and programmes in initiatives financed by the European Social Fund with a view to achieving social integration and participation by those belonging to less privileged categories;

52.    Takes a positive view of the Commission's stance in recognising the role of sport as a useful instrument for integrating migrants and, more generally, as an instrument of social inclusion; proposes that access to sport and integration in social sports infrastructures should be considered an indicator of social integration and a factor for analysing the phenomenon of social exclusion;

53.    Stresses the role of regions and local authorities in organising professional and recreational sports events, developing infrastructure and promoting sport and a healthy lifestyle among EU citizens, particularly schoolchildren.

54.    Calls on sports organisations and Member States to adopt the strictest of measures to combat racism and discrimination in sports; considers the sporting arena the working place of the professional athlete and calls on the European Commission to ensure a workplace free of discrimination;

Sport and third countries

55.    Insists that development through sport should never lead to "muscle drain" and calls on the Union to address this issue in its policy dialogue and cooperation with partner countries;

56.    Calls on the Commission and the Member States to extend the scope of dialogue and cooperation with third countries to issues such as transfers of international players, exploitation of underage players, doping, money-laundering through sport and safety during major international sports events;

57.    Calls on the Member States to provide more facilities to accommodate sportsmen and sportswomen from third countries in accordance with recent pronouncements concerning cyclical migration, partnership arrangements with third countries regarding mobility and the legal migration policy projected in 2005;

58.    Calls on the Commission and the Member States, when addressing sport in the EU’s development policies, to create synergies with existing programmes of the United Nations, Member States, local authorities, NGOs and private bodies;

Policing of sports events

59.    Calls on Member States to encourage the exchange of best practices and of operational information on risk-supporters between police services, supporter initiatives, local anti-violence groups and experts and the sports authorities, in order to prevent and address cases of violence, racism and xenophobia at sports events; calls on all parties concerned to play an active role, eliciting immediate and more stringent sanctions against racism and violence, be they on the field or in the stands and to draw upon the existing experience of competition organisers and clubs in this field at a domestic and European level to ensure high minimum standards are guaranteed by public authorities and competition organisers in implementing procedures and match security plans; welcomes the proposal by the Commission to set up a European police force for sport as an important step in this direction; underlines the need to create the conditions for a more comprehensive approach, involving all the stakeholders in a strategy designed to strengthen the non-repressive aspects of the response to challenges, with a strong focus on education and training;

60.    Calls on the Commission and the Member States to implement an ‘intelligence-led policy’ of cross-border police cooperation in the field of sport, including the exchange of information and intelligence between security services, while ensuring respect for freedom, fundamental rights and data protection rules;

61.    Draws particular attention to the valuable experience gained through the NFIPs (National Football Information Points, responsible for coordinating and facilitating cross-border police information exchange, including risk assessments and data on high-risk supporters) and the handbook for international police cooperation, which can play a key role in this ‘intelligence-led policy’; calls on the Commission and the Member States to cooperate more extensively and to develop and update this approach further where necessary;

62.    Welcomes the Commission's initiative to prevent violence during sport events and recommends developing measures to combat violence in school sports;

63.    Welcomes the development of club licensing systems at national and European level and believes that such systems should also include provisions related to the prevention of racism, xenophobia and violence, the protection of minors and respect for fundamental rights;

Economic aspects

64.    Calls on the European Commission and Member States to introduce legislation and/or strengthen existing regulations and to attach particular importance to respecting intellectual property rights relating to commercial communications, trademarks and images, names, media rights and any other spin-offs from the sporting events organisers are running, so as to protect the professional sport economy, while respecting the right of "short reporting" as stipulated by the 'Audiovisual Media Services' directive and the self-sustained and balanced development of sport, without putting at stake the proper balance between a sporting organisation's legitimate concerns and the needs of the public to be able to access and create objective, informative and topical information in the forms of written, pictorial and audio content; points out that it is also important to ensure that recipients are guaranteed the possibility of having distance access to sports events at cross-border level within the EU; in particular, problems of ambush marketing, internet piracy and unlawful sports betting should be addressed as a priority by Member States and the Commission;

65.    Acknowledges the right of all media to access and report on organised sporting events of public significance in order to guarantee the right of the public to receive such news and information; acknowledges the right of the Member States to be able to take measures to protect the right to information and to ensure wide access by the public to television coverage of national or non-national sport events of major importance for society, such as the Olympic Games, the football World Cup and the European football Championship;

66.    Repeats its support for Member States drawing up a list of events of major importance to the public that should be on free-to-air television under Article 3a of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive and condemns FIFA's court actions in this respect;

67.    Recommends that Member States and national sports federations and leagues introduce collective selling of media rights (where this is not already the case); considers that there needs to be, in the interests of solidarity, an equitable redistribution of income between sport clubs, including the smallest ones, within and between the leagues, and between professional and amateur sport, so as to prevent a situation in which only big clubs benefit from media rights;

68.    Welcomes the Commission's recognition of collective selling of media rights as a tool for achieving greater solidarity within sports and its insistence on the creation and maintenance of solidarity mechanisms; calls on those leagues which do not foresee such mechanisms to introduce them and calls on the Commission to accept collective selling of media rights as generally compliant with EU competition rules, alternatively setting up a block exemption for the collective selling of media rights in the area of sport, thus ensuring legal certainty for both sport event organisers and media investors;

69.    States that sport must ensure the interdependence of competitors and the need to guarantee the uncertainty of results of competitions, which could justify sports organisations implementing a specific framework on the markets for the production and the sale of sport events; however, these specific features do not warrant an automatic exemption from EU competition rules of any economic activities generated by sport;

70.    Asks the Commission and the Member States to strengthen further Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in the sport sector, and demands concrete action which protects the IPR of sport event organisers with regard to results and their sporting event as a whole;

71.    Calls on the Commission to pay sufficient attention to sports piracy in its strategy for the online content sector and its fight against piracy; calls on the Commission and Member States to strengthen the rights of the sports sector in the context of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and their dialogue with third countries;

72.    Notes that there is often a mismatch between supply of and demand for tickets for major sports events, which is detrimental to consumers; stresses that the interests of consumers should be fully taken into account when organising the distribution of tickets and that non-discriminatory and fair ticket sales should be guaranteed at all levels;

73.    Calls on the Commission and the Member States to develop a European statistical method for measuring the economic impact of sport as a basis for national statistical accounts for sport, which could in time lead to a European satellite account for sport;

74.    Calls on the Commission to include in the scope of its plans for the immediate future an evaluation of the direct contribution made by sport to GDP, development and employment, and its indirect contribution, through education, regional development and greater EU appeal, to the Lisbon Agenda;

75.    Recommends that Member States make more effective use of the potential of sport to create jobs and promote economic growth and revitalisation, particularly in disadvantaged areas and that Member States and the Union support sport accordingly through existing EU funding programmes and in this light underlines the important role sport can play in the field of social inclusion; recognises the role of income from media and other intellectual property rights in the growth of expenditure on revitalisation and community projects,

76.    Calls on the Member States, with the help of the Commission, to organise the exchange of best practices between themselves and the sports federations regarding the organisation of major sports events with a view to promoting sustainable economic development, competition and employment;

77.    Proposes that an effective mechanism be set up for promoting cross-border and inter-regional cooperation so as to make better use of infrastructure investments connected to sporting events; further proposes to encourage the promotion of sport through the European grouping of territorial cooperation as provided for by Regulation (EC) No 1082/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 on a European grouping of territorial cooperation (EGTC)⁽⁹⁾;

78.    Supports strengthening of solidarity between professional and amateur sport so as to encourage small clubs, promote school sports and develop the relevant local infrastructures; welcomes the Commission’s acknowledgement of the particular challenges faced by amateur and non-profit sport and by sport dependent on volunteering and calls for this to be reflected in all economic aspects of future sports policy;

79.    Calls on the Commission to help maintain, with a view to ensuring continued sources of financing for non-professional sport, the current system of public financing of non-professional sport through contributions from state-run lotteries and licensed gambling bodies operating in the general interest;

80.    Awaits with interest the findings of the independent survey regarding both public and private funding in the Member States for grass-roots sport and sport for all and the impact of the ongoing changes taking place in that sector;

81.    Voices its concern at a possible deregulation of the market in gambling and lotteries; considers it appropriate to use the profits derived from such lotteries for purposes that are in the public interest, including the continuing financing for professional and amateur sports; calls on the Commission and the Member States to adopt regulatory measures which ensure that sport is protected from any improper influence relating to betting;. calls on the Commission to carry out a study of the potential effects on society and sport of full deregulation of the market in gambling and lotteries, and of what types of control mechanisms could be used to protect consumers;

82.    Asks the Commission to come forward with a proposal ensuring a clean sports betting sector in the Union, preventing misuse and corruption and respecting the sporting event organisers' rights; and asks the Commission and the Member States to explore with sports and betting operators the creation of a workable, equitable and sustainable framework to ensure that all sports in Europe remain free from illegal betting practices and that public confidence in their integrity is retained;

83.    Points out that the discriminatory tax treatment favouring sports people, in application in the Member States, can have distorting effects on competition;

84.    Stresses, together with the Commission, the need to continue to provide for the possibility of reduced VAT in respect of sports activities, given the important social role it fulfils and its close links with the local community;

85.    Encourages sports organisations to reinvest a percentage of the revenue generated by the sale of media rights and market ventures relating to a particular sport, such reinvestment to be allocated directly to funding and aiding the volunteer and non-profit sectors of that sport;

86.    Considers it important to recognise the specific nature of non-profit sports organisations and asserts that account must be taken in Community law of the difference between volunteer organisations, non-profit organisations and profit-making enterprises; calls on the Member States, together with the Commission, to define the principal challenges facing non-profit-making sports associations and the principal nature of the services provided by them;

Issues related to the employment of sports people

76.    Considers it undesirable for professional athletes to have fewer rights than other contracted workers and therefore considers it important that professional athletes have as broad and transparent a range of rights as other workers, including the right to enter or refuse to enter into collective agreements and membership of professional trade unions;

88.    Affirms the basic applicability of EU non-discrimination legislation to the field of sports in Europe and calls on the Commission to ensure that any derogations due to the specificity of sports are both legal and limited in scope; considers that there are certain instances, in view of the specific characteristics of sport, where limited and proportionate restrictions on free movement may be appropriate, useful and necessary in order to promote sport in Member States;

89.    Calls on Member States to ensure, through their national legislation, that any rule on the transfer of players in a European context respects EU law, with due regard to the specificity of sport and other fundamental principles such as the maintenance of contractual stability and the stability of competitions;

90.    Calls on the Member States and sports associations not to introduce new rules that create direct discrimination based on nationality (such as 6 + 5); advocates political dialogue with the Member States as a means of combating discrimination in sport by way of recommendations, structured dialogue with those involved in sport and infringement procedures when considered appropriate;

91.    Calls on the Member States and relevant regulatory bodies to examine allegations of corruption and exploitation in the recruitment and employment of athletes, in particular under-age athletes from outside the Union;

92.    Condemns bad practices in the activities of some representatives of professional sports players which have resulted in instances of corruption, money laundering and the exploitation of under-age players and sportsmen and sportswomen, and takes the view that such practices harm sport in general; believes that the current economic reality surrounding players' agents requires that sport governing bodies at all levels, in consultation with the Commission, improve the rules governing players' agents; in this respect calls on the Commission to support the efforts of sport governing bodies to regulate players' agents, if necessary by presenting a proposal for a directive concerning players' agents; supports public-private partnerships representative of sports interests and anti-corruption authorities, which will assist in the development of effective preventive and repressive strategies to counter such corruption;

93.    Notes that recognition of players' agents' professional qualifications is covered by Directive 2005/36/EC⁽¹⁰⁾ where the profession is subject to national rules;

94.    Insists that immigration law must always be respected in relation to the recruitment of young foreign talent and calls on the Commission to tackle the problem of child trafficking in the context of Council Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA of 19 July 2002 on combating trafficking in human beings and/or in the context of the implementation of Council Directive 94/33/EC of 22 June 1994 on the protection of young people at work;

95.    Calls on the Member States and sports associations to cooperate in protecting the mental and physical health of young people by means of information regarding the applicable legislation, health insurance for sports people, the establishment of minimum standards and the exchange of best practices;

96.    Calls on the sports governing bodies and the clubs to engage in the fight against human trafficking by

-            subscribing to a European charter for solidarity in sports, that commits subscribers to respect good practices concerning the discovery, recruitment and reception of young foreign sports players;

-            the creation of a Solidarity Fund that would finance prevention programmes in countries most affected by human trafficking;

-            reviewing Article 19 of the FIFA Regulations for the Status and Transfer of Players in relation to the protection of minors;

97.    Welcomes the encouragement given to establish European committees for social dialogue in the sports sector; supports efforts by employers and employees in this area and calls on the Commission to continue its open dialogue with all sports organisations regarding this matter;

98.    Underlines the importance of social dialogue promoted by the Commission as a valuable platform to promote social consultation and stable relations between employer and employee representatives and ensure legal certainty and contractual stability in sport; in this respect, welcomes the fact that the EPFL and FIFpro, mutually recognising each other as social partners, have jointly requested to the Commission the formal establishment of a EU social dialogue committee in the professional football sector, with the clubs and UEFA taking part as equal partners;

99.    Considers that players' agents should have a role within a strengthened social dialogue in sports, which, in combination with better regulation and a European licensing system for agents, would also prevent cases of improper action by agents;

EU sport funding

100.  Requests for the 2009 budget a special budget line for preparatory actions in the field of sport; since Article 149 of the Lisbon Treaty, foresees incentive measures in the area of sport and since a specific EU funding programme on sport would not be operational before 2011 – assuming the Lisbon Treaty is ratified by the 27 Member States – acknowledges the need to prepare the programme through preparatory actions as from 2009;

101.  Asks to start the implementation process for the various actions mentioned in the 'Pierre de Coubertin' Action Plan;

102.  Welcomes the idea of an EU sport policy programme based on the provisions foreseen by the Lisbon Treaty and looks forward to the proposal from the Commission;

103.  Calls on the Commission to launch preparatory actions in the field of social inclusion and sport, focusing on projects with clear European added value, and urges the Commission to support projects that fulfil this aim, such as the Special Olympics Unified Sports initiative; urges the Commission to devote part of any possible future preparatory action in the field of sport to the issue of the protection of minors;

104.  Invites the Commission and the Member States to take into consideration the possibility of creating supporting programmes for students with special physical qualities;

105.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States, as part of their sustainable development strategies, to provide funding for sports-related infrastructures and projects under the European Regional Development Fund, as well as providing for the possible use of new funding instruments (including JEREMIE and JESSICA):

106.  Urges the Commission to mainstream sport properly in existing EU policies and EU funding programmes and report on the progress of its mainstreaming several times a year;

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107.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of Member States and European, international and national sport federations as well as to national leagues and competitions.

(1) OJ L 180, 19.7.2000, p. 22. (2) OJ L 303, 2.12.2000, p. 16. (3) OJ C 200, 30.6.1997, p. 252. (4) OJ C 68 E, 18.3.2004, p. 605. (5) P6_TA(2007)0100. (6) P6_TA(2007)0503. (7) OJ C 33 E, 9.2.2006, p. 590. (8) OJ C 291E, 30.11.2006, p.143. (9) OJ L 210, 31.7.2006, p. 19. (10) OJ L 255, 30.9.2005, p. 22.

A.     The societal role of sport

Sport constitutes an important social phenomenon and a public good. For many it is one of the most important forms of recreation, whether they take part in or watch sport.

The benefits we derive from sport may be transferred directly to our daily lives. These include a sense of responsibility, solidarity, tolerance, fair play, team spirit and respect for others. Sport promotes the active contribution of European citizens to society and helps foster active citizenship.

In general, lack of physical activity has an adverse effect on the health of European citizens, since it reinforces the occurrence of overweight, obesity and a number of chronic conditions such as cardio-vascular diseases and diabetes. These adverse consequences are a burden on the health budget and the general economy of Member States.

Today, sport is rightly subject to the application of the acquis communautaire. This means that the statutes of each federation must respect Community law. In a number of areas of sport European policies already have a considerable and growing impact. The Commission seeks to propose new Community actions relating to sport. For this reason, the new reforming Treaty must create the essential conditions so that the Commission can propose appropriate actions. To be sure, every action proposed by the Commission must be based on a social dialogue with the various stakeholders.

Today, practical proposals for further Community actions are centred around an action plan bearing the name of Pierre de Coubertin, the French baron who revived the Olympic Games in a spirit of fair play, peace and friendship between peoples. 'Sport is part of every man and woman's heritage and its absence can never be compensated for', said Pierre de Coubertin. The Pierre de Coubertin action plan contains 53 actions, which will be implemented or supported by the Commission.

The participation of European citizens in sports activities

All EU citizens must have access to sport, irrespective of gender, race, age, disability, religion and belief, sexual orientation and social or economic background.

As regards amateur sport, its recognition on the basis of non-profit sport clubs encourages the participation of citizens in society. Amateur sports take place mainly at school and university, but also in sport clubs. This is why we attribute pedagogical value to amateur sport. Member States should therefore aim to finance university sports institutes in order to develop specialised programmes in the field of sports research and to make progress in sports science.

In professional sport, on the other hand, the state should not act as a financial sponsor, but should rather establish the rules and ensure and monitor proper compliance with them. The State should also establish incentives and create the right conditions for the full development of the 'industrial production of sport spectacles' within the framework of a free market economy.

In addition, particular care should be given to professional sportsmen and -women whose lives are not easy and whose professional careers are relatively short. We must bear in mind the exhausting training they have to undergo and their demanding schedule, which often is a burden on their health.

The incidence of violence in sports grounds and doping

Member States are responsible for preventing and addressing violence, racism and xenophobia at sports events. Exchanges of best practice and of operational information on risk-supporters among police services and sport authorities would be an important step in attaining this objective.

Tough competition demands maximum effort and discipline and is linked to the phenomenon of doping. Doping undermines the principle of open and fair competition. At European level, the fight against doping must take into account both a law-enforcement and a health and prevention dimension. In the fight against doping we must support the Commission's recommendation that the trade in illicit doping substances should be treated in the same manner as trade in illicit drugs. In addition, Member States must ensure that young sportsmen and -women are better informed and educated about doping substances, prescription medicines which may contain them and their health implications.

Finally, special attention must be given to the role of women in sport. The gender dimension must be integrated in all sports-related activities, with a specific focus on access to sport for immigrant women and women from ethnic minorities, women's access to decision-making positions in sport and media coverage of women in sport. Furthermore, women make a very important contribution in ensuring the access of persons with disabilities to all athletic activities. Vulnerable groups, such as persons with disabilities, should be protected and their access to sports activities facilitated by means of the creation of suitable infrastructures by Member States.

B.       The economic dimension and sport

Sport is a fast-growing sector which can contribute to the Lisbon objectives on growth and job creation. According to a study presented during the Austrian Presidency in 2006, sport generated value-added of 407 billion euros in 2004, accounting for 3.7% of EU GDP and employment for 15 million people or 5.4% of the labour force.

However, the lack of a clear definition of the term sport in the 27 Member States has created an economic vacuum. For instance, Member States have not clearly defined the term sport, nor have they established whether or not it is a service of general interest so as to justify economic benefits, for example tax relief.

As a result, the development of a European statistical method for measuring the economic impact of sport as a basis for national statistical accounts for sport could lead in time to a European satellite account for sport. This might help us understand the various sectors on which sport has an economic impact, such as, for example, tourism, the construction industry and employment.

Sport organisations have many sources of income, including club fees and ticket sales, advertising and sponsorship, media rights, re-distribution of income within the sport federations, merchandising, public support, etc. However, gambling and lotteries are also an important source of revenue, mainly for amateur sport. It is therefore important that the state monopoly be maintained in this sector in order to ensure the funding of sport and culture.

Another economic challenge which we should evaluate concerns non-profit sport organisations and the principal characteristics of the services provided by such organisations. The Commission has undertaken, jointly with the Member States, to define the basic challenges facing non-profit support organisations, given that there is a growing tendency to practice sport individually, rather than collectively and in an organised structure, which is resulting in a declining volunteer base for amateur sport clubs.

C.       The organisation of sport

The political debate on sport in Europe often attributes considerable importance to the so-called 'European Sport Model'. Economic and social developments that are common to the majority of the Member States (increasing commercialism, challenges to public spending, increasing numbers of participants and stagnation in the number of voluntary workers) have resulted in new challenges for the organisation of sport in Europe.

The specificity of European sport can be approached through two prisms: (a) the specificity of sporting activities and of sporting rules; and (b) the specificity of the sport structure, including notably the autonomy and diversity of sport organisations, the organisation of sport on a national basis and the principle of a single federation per sport, etc.

The organisation of sport and of competitions on a national basis is part of the historical and cultural background of the European approach to sport, and corresponds to the wishes of European citizens. In particular, national teams play an essential role not only in terms of identity, but also to secure solidarity with grassroots sport.

Due to the very nature of organised sport, European sport structures are, as a rule, less well developed than sport structures at national and international levels. Moreover, European sport is generally organised according to continental structures, and not at EU-27 level.

Furthermore, the EU acknowledges the autonomy of sporting organisations and representative structures, such as the bodies organising professional championships. However, there must be minimum regulation at European level to ensure better and more effective coordination.

The Commission has stated its acceptance of limited and proportionate restrictions to the principle of free movement in particular as regards (a) the right to select national athletes for national team competitions; (b) the need to limit the number of participants from third countries in a competition; (c) the setting of deadlines for transfers of players in team sports.

Players’ representatives (agents)

The development of a truly European market for players and the rise in the level of players’ salaries in some sports has resulted in an increase in the activities of players’ agents whose services are used to negotiate and sign contracts.

However, the high degree of internationalisation of this specific sector has given corruption in sport a cross-border dimension, and problems of corruption with a European dimension need to be tackled at European level.

Negative phenomena in sport are very few compared to the benefits.

We must combat them jointly and highlight the added value of sport.

The media

Television rights are the primary source of income for professional sport in Europe. Conversely, sport media rights are a decisive source of content for many media operators.

The European Parliament recommends that Member States adopt a common practice as regards the sale of media rights so as to ensure that big clubs are not the only ones to benefit and recognises the importance of an equitable redistribution of income between sport clubs, including the smallest ones, and between professional and amateur sport. Furthermore, collective selling can be important for the redistribution of income and can thus be a tool for achieving greater solidarity within sports.

SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs calls on the Committee on Culture and Education, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions in its motion for a resolution:

1.  Supports the Commission’s conclusions, in particular that sport is a fast-growing sector with an underestimated macro-economic impact, and can contribute to the Lisbon objectives of growth and job creation; underlines the extensive impact that sport has on other economic and social activities;

2.  Supports the Commission’s proposals concerning the economic dimension of sport; points also in this connection to the considerable importance of sport in social and societal terms; notes that commercial success and sportsmanship are compatible and mutually beneficial; acknowledges the link between the economic value of sport and the licensing and protection of intellectual property rights;

3.  Calls in addition for an appropriate assessment of the role of sport in the light of its fundamental importance in terms of health, childrearing, education, social integration and culture in European society; points in particular, in this context, to the voluntary input in this area and the outstanding contribution that this makes to economic and social cohesion;

4.  Emphasises the rapidly changing nature of the European sport economy which is increasingly based on investment in and development of innovative sport content through digital technologies; recognises the need to prevent the undermining of intellectual property rights and goodwill, to minimise piracy and reduce the scope for illegal operations on the Internet;

5.  Recognises and respects the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Communities in relation to the application of EU competition and free movement rules to the economic dimension of sport; stresses that commercial contracts concerning intellectual property associated with sport (including those incorporating the sale of television and new media rights concerning a sport) should always fully comply with EC competition law and be negotiated and completed in a transparent manner but, subject to this, believes that sport broadcasts should be accessible to the widest possible range of people through the widest range of media and platforms, including through free-to-air channels, in accordance with Article 3j of Directive 89/552/EEC (Audiovisual Media Services Directive)⁽¹⁾;

6.  Believes that, due to the complexity of separating competition law aspects from purely sporting aspects, certain situations have to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis; therefore opposes any moves towards establishing a block exemption for sport as regards the EC competition rules and furthermore calls on the Commission to recognise that EC competition law is relevant only to the economic activities of sporting organisations;

7.   Calls on the Commission to ensure more funding for sport-related projects within the existing programmes, as well as to provide new funding instruments aimed at sport-related issues;

8.  Encourages sporting organisations to reinvest a percentage of the revenue generated by the sale of media rights and market ventures relating to a particular sport, such reinvestment to be allocated directly to funding and aiding the volunteer and non-profit sectors of that sport;

9.  Welcomes the Commission’s acknowledgement of the particular challenges faced by amateur and non-profit sport and by sport dependent on volunteering and calls for this to be reflected in all economic aspects of future sports policy;

10. Notes that the Commission understands the importance of public support for grassroots sport and sport for all and, therefore, calls on the Commission to develop clear guidelines on the application of EC competition and internal market law (such as state aid rules), that take account of the specificity of sport indicating what kind of public funding can be supported in order to fulfil the social, cultural and educational role played by sport, and also calls on the Commission to consider current European support programmes with a view to the possibilities they offer for promoting sport; notes also that the protection and promotion of sport have constitutional status in some Member States, whence the requirement to guarantee the operational viability of sport;

11. Points out that the link between sport and health is an important consideration, so that cooperation between sports organisations or associations and health funds and doctors has become an increasingly common practice which represents an enormous added value for health care services and, at the same time, a financial saving;

12. Notes that the EU institutions have no legal obligation to recognise the specificity of sport when they apply the provisions of the Treaty, and that, as a consequence, the very notion of specificity remains vulnerable to the fluctuating decisions of the courts;

13. Calls on the Commission to accept, in the interest of putting the financing of non-professional sport on a secure footing, the current system of public funding of non-professional sport by contributions from state-run lotteries and other nationally licensed organisations that operate games of chance for the public benefit;

14. Welcomes Commission’s intention to maintain the existing possibilities for VAT reduction and calls on the Commission to encourage Member States to provide further financial incentives for sport;

15. Points out that the discriminatory tax treatment favouring sports people in application in the Member States can have distorting effects on competition;

16. Notes that recent judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Communities, in particular Meca-Medina⁽²⁾, have seriously undermined the status of sporting rules that are designed to ensure fair play and open competition;

17. Asks the Commission and the Member States to consider how Article 149 of the EC Treaty, as amended by the Lisbon Treaty, could contribute to a clearer and more consistent recognition of the specificity of sport, which would be endorsed by the Court of Justice;

18. Emphasises the importance of funding physical activity in schools, which is fundamental to the psychological and physical growth of the youngest children, as well as being a major healthcare instrument for the young and less young;

19. Rejects the idea of setting up an EU sports agency, because the individual responsibility of the huge number of different forms of sports organisations at EU level must not be eroded;

20. Expresses its support for the club licensing systems introduced to football in 2004, which promote competitive balance and deliver financial stability for clubs; calls for the further development and implementation of such systems in other sports in order to promote best practices and good governance in sport in conformity with EU law;

21. Repeats its previous call (in regard to football) for the Commission to take action concerning betting and sport; specifically asks the Commission and the Member States to explore with sports and betting operators the creation of a workable, equitable and sustainable framework for ensuring that all sport in Europe remains free from the pollution of illegal betting behaviour and retain the trust of the European sporting public; points out that state gambling monopolies may constitute a violation of EU law, and calls on the Commission to enforce the European single market in the area of internet betting on sport and to propose appropriate measures in this area;

22. Takes the view that sport can be supported just as effectively without state gambling monopolies;

23. Expresses concern at the growth of advertising linking sports and alcohol that is directed at young people and recommends that, while sporting organisations are free to use advertisers and sponsors from all sections of the industry, special consideration should be given to sports advertising aimed at young people.

RESULT OF FINAL VOTE IN COMMITTEE

(1) OJ L 298, 17.10.1989, p. 23. (2) Case C-519/04 P, Meca-Medina and Majcen v. Commission, [2006] ECR I-6991.

SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs calls on the Committee on Culture and Education, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions in its motion for a resolution:

-     having regard to Council Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin⁽¹⁾, which prohibits all forms on racial discrimination in the areas of employment, education, social security, health care and access to goods and services,

-     having regard to Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation⁽²⁾,

-     having regard to its declaration of 14 March 2006 on tackling racism in football⁽³⁾,

Α.  whereas sports play a crucial role in social inclusion, integration and equal opportunities, intercultural dialogue, and the promotion of voluntary work, and should be free of discrimination and of all manifestation of racism, violence, xenophobia and intolerance,

B.   whereas disabled sportspeople must not suffer discrimination compared to their able-bodied counterparts as regards social entitlements under the Member States' legal systems,

1.   Calls on the Commission, in this connection, to observe the principle of subsidiarity;

2.   Asks the Commission to have due respect for the specificity of sports and to provide more legal certainty by creating, with the involvement of all relevant stakeholders and in a joint inter-institutional dialogue, clear guidelines on the applicability of EC law to sports in the European Union; calls on the Commission, in this connection, to observe the principle of subsidiarity;

3.   Asks the Commission, therefore, to commission a study on the scope of EC law, including labour and social protection rules, applicable to sport in the European Union, giving particular emphasis to transfers of players;

4.   Recommends that the prevention of and fight against doping should constitute an important concern for the Member States; calls for a policy aimed at preventing and combating doping at international level and stresses the need to fight irregularities through checks, research, testing, long-term monitoring by independent doctors and, at the same time, prevention and education;

5.   Endorses the basic applicability of EU non-discrimination legislation, banning all kinds of discrimination, to the field both of professional and amateur sports in the European Union and calls on all the Member States and the Commission to transpose and implement Directives 2000/78/EC and 2000/43/EC effectively; asserts that sport has a social function and can be regarded as a useful way both to foster cohesion, social integration, and cultural understanding among people of different sexes, races, and faiths, and to combat discrimination, intolerance, racism, and violence;

6.   Calls on the Commission to launch, without delay, a dialogue with sports organisations aimed at reaching a viable agreement on improving the training of young people in sport and the employment of home-grown players;

7.   Calls on the Commission to ensure that any derogations on the basis of the specificity of sport remain both legal and limited in scope;

8.   Asks the Commission to guarantee free movement not only of professional athletes but also of coaches and support staff in line with the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Communities and Community legislation, whilst acknowledging the desire to strike a balance between the principle of free movement and the need of national sports teams for more home-grown players; in this context, asks the Commission to invest not only in the sporting but also in the vocational qualifications of athletes, and to enable further mutual recognition within the European Union of qualifications which have been acquired within the framework of sports activities on the basis of the common reference levels provided by the European Qualifications Framework by introducing the European certification of sports agents, thus making it possible to subject them to supervision, which will contribute to their long-term absorption in the labour market as well as to social cohesion in Europe; stresses the need to provide training accessible to all sportspeople to ensure their reintegration in the labour market after the end of their sporting careers;

9.   Recognises that sport is a sector which creates jobs and contributes to economic growth and revival, especially in disadvantaged regions, and that other sectors are linked to it, such as education, medicine, the media and the manufacturing and marketing of special equipment and products;

10. Recognises the social and educational dimension of sport and calls on Member States to take all the necessary measures to ensure that those athletes who wish to do so may, at the end of their sporting career, undergo vocational education and training with a view to offering their experience and knowledge to young sportspeople;

11.  Considers sport clubs and stadiums the working place of professional athletes; calls on sports clubs to do more to train, encourage and employ their own young athletes; calls on professional organisations and clubs in the field of sports to launch campaigns to tackle all forms of discrimination, racism, and xenophobia before, during participation in sports activities and during and after-sports matches, inside and outside stadiums; calls for the publication of annual reports on progress in this area; calls on Member States and local authorities to ensure that persons with disabilities have access to sports grounds and facilities;

12. Maintains that it is essential for young sportspeople to be fully trained from the outset in both sports and academic subjects, since this will ensure that professional sportspeople can re-enter the labour market at the end of their sporting careers;

13. Supports a strengthening of solidarity between professional and amateur sport so as to encourage small clubs, promote school sports and develop the relevant local infrastructures;

14. Considers it undesirable for professional athletes to have fewer rights than other contracted workers and considers it therefore important that professional athletes have a broad and transparent range of rights as workers, including the right to enter or refuse to enter into collective agreements and membership of professional unions;

15. Calls on the Member States and relevant regulatory bodies to examine allegations of corruption and exploitation in the recruitment and employment of athletes, in particular under-age athletes from outside the European Union;

16. Recommends that the specific associations for the different categories of persons involved in sport (players, trainers or coaches, referees, etc.) should all be appropriately represented in the decision-making bodies of international and national federations;

17. Urges the Commission to ensure that all social entitlements earmarked for sportspeople are equally accessible to their disabled counterparts;

18. Recognises the role of sport, including professional sport, as an important tool for promoting team spirit, fairness and a sense of responsibility, social inclusion and cultural integration, as a factor to promote growth and job creation, local and regional development, and urban renewal and rural development, and as a way of fostering values such as solidarity, tolerance, and fair competition, as well as combating obesity and overweight, and the important contribution it makes to handing on fundamental social, educational and cultural values; calls for a greater commitment to combating doping, crime and corruption within clubs;

19.  Calls on Member States to cooperate with physical education academies with a view to providing comprehensive quality education so as to impart the necessary knowledge to sportspeople, thereby enabling them to study at secondary and tertiary-level educational establishments and to enter the labour market;

20. Proposes that access to sport and integration in social sports infrastructures should be considered an indicator of social integration and a factor for analysing the phenomenon of social exclusion;

21. Stresses the importance of physical exercise and sport in curbing obesity and eliminating unhealthy lifestyle habits, since this phenomenon has a significant positive impact on citizens' health on the one hand and as regards reducing the cost of health insurance funds on the other; expresses, however, concern at the fact that the extension of working hours and existing employment conditions in general deter workers from taking regular exercise and devoting themselves more single-mindedly to sport;

22. Asks the Commission and Member States, taking into account the principle of subsidiarity, to approve and fund project proposals linking social inclusion and sports as a priority within existing budgets and programmes both at European and at national levels; supports the intention of the Commission to mainstream sport in different action programmes;

23. Points to the importance of encouraging people to play sports by guaranteeing access to sport for all and equal opportunities and investing in the training of teachers and sports coaches as well as in more public sports facilities; also calls for the necessary support to be provided to enable people with disabilities to have access to sport;

24. Considers sport and physical education to be central to high-quality education;

25.  Welcomes the recognition by the Commission in its White Paper of the nature of non-profit activities of sports as social services of general interest; asks the Commission to treat sports accordingly;

26. Draws attention to non-professional sport, which is often neglected; points to the need for greater financial support, better working conditions, and other incentives and benefits to be afforded to non-professional sport, including non-profit-making clubs and amateur and volunteer athletes, trainers or coaches, and referees;

27. Expresses its support for sport governing bodies that invest in the education and training of young players by stressing the need for a minimum number of locally trained players in a club squad, regardless of their nationality;

28. Supports the Commission's recommendations to the Member States to develop strategies at national level which, under the educational programmes, would seek to increase and enhance children's and schoolchildren's physical activity from a very early age;

29. Recognises the link between the commercial and the social role of sports; recognises, therefore, that investing in the promotion of youth development, grassroots training, facilities and community based programmes, is highly dependent on the generation and reinvestment of media revenue from professional sport and through the effective enforcement of intellectual property rights in sport broadcasts;

30. Notes the fact that the Association of European Professional Football Leagues and FIFPro, have jointly requested that the Commission formally establish a social dialogue committee in the professional football sector; welcomes that development and encourages the further strengthening of the social dialogue.

RESULT OF FINAL VOTE IN COMMITTEE

(1) OJ L 180, 19.7.2000, p. 22. (2) OJ L 303, 2.12.2000, p. 16. (3) OJ C 291 E, 30.11.2006, p. 143.

SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection calls on the Committee on Culture and Education, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions in its motion for a resolution:

1.      Points out that this opinion is without prejudice to the non-economic aspects of professional or amateur sport;

2.      Notes that professional and amateur sport is not just a major social and cultural phenomenon in Europe but also a source of substantial revenue since it generates economic activity;

3.      Notes that existing structures for sport in Europe are based on the principle of nationality;

4.      Recognises that professional sport must comply with rules emanating from multiple sources (EC, Member States and sports governing bodies) causing ambiguity in an already undefined area;

5.      Notes that the recurrence of legal challenges to the structures and rules of sport and of illicit practices by certain agents has created great concern, while greater legal certainty would help all actors involved to make better use of the advantages that the internal market provides; recommends the introduction of European certification for players’ agents to enable them to be regulated;

6.      Notes that case law has to a large extent shaped the legal environment within which professional sport operates, but that some matters need further guidance at Community and national level;

7.      Notes that there is often a mismatch between supply of and demand for tickets for major sports events, which is detrimental to consumers; stresses that the interests of consumers should be fully taken into account when organising the distribution of tickets and that non-discriminatory and fair ticket sales should be guaranteed at all levels;

8.      Asks Member States and sports governing bodies to promote actively the social and democratic role of fans by supporting the creation and development of supporters' federations and promoting their involvement in the management and administration of the game;

9.      Believes that the Supporters Direct initiative serves as an example of best practice in this respect and calls on the Commission, the Member States and the sports governing bodies to promote its dissemination;

10.    Points out that, as the televised broadcasting of sports competitions is also taking place on encrypted and prepaid channels, it should be accessible through the widest range of media and platforms, and supports the Member States' right to draw up a list of sports events which states that a substantial proportion of the public may not be excluded when a Member State regards the sports event in question as being of major importance for society;

11.    Supports the principle of the collective sale of media rights, in order to ensure the equitable redistribution of this important financial resource; stresses the importance of the solidarity mechanism that ensures equitable redistribution of revenues between clubs;

12.    Underlines the necessity for better control of sports betting and preservation of sport’s integrity; asks the Commission to come forward with a proposal ensuring sports betting in the European Union on the basis of a state or state-controlled licensing system, providing for Member States to take necessary and appropriate measures against compulsive gambling, respecting the sports event organisers’ rights, preventing misuse and corruption and allowing for the possibility of a stable source of funding to promote professional and amateur sport;

13.    Asks the Commission and the Member States to explore with sport and betting operators the creation of a workable, equitable and sustainable framework to ensure that all sports in Europe remain free from illegal betting practices and retain public confidence in the integrity of sport;

14.    Calls on the Commission to come forward with a legal and economic framework for professional sports, while recognising at all times that matters concerning the general organisation and rules of professional sport are best left to the most involved stakeholders and that, in respecting subsidiarity, action on the part of the EU should only be taken where necessary.

RESULT OF FINAL VOTE IN COMMITTEE

SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on Regional Development calls on the Committee on Culture and Education, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions in its motion for a resolution:

A. having regard to the role of sport in promoting integration and its potential contribution to social cohesion and the internal cohesion of the regions,

1.  Stresses the significance of the inclusion of sport in the Lisbon Treaty and points to the opportunity it offers to mobilise EU financial resources and programmes with the aim of using sport as an instrument for economic development, social cohesion and improving the infrastructures of the cities and regions of the EU;

2.  Recognises the importance of sport, the sports industry and sports tourism for the creation of jobs and small and medium-sized businesses;

3.   Stresses that a high level of availability and accessibility of sports-related infrastructure for all social groups has a positive impact on the quality of life in both rural and urban areas; calls on local and regional authorities to develop sports-related infrastructure as an essential public service;

4.  Recalls and stresses that sport is subject to the general Community rules on the internal market, free competition, and the free movement of workers, which have proved their worth with regard to social and regional cohesion and economic development; points out, too, that the majority of sports and leisure facilities in the municipalities and regions are an essential part of inter-cultural coexistence, and as such a vital public service;

5.   Points out that the success achieved by certain sports clubs in international competitions is important for the development of certain regions and countries, either directly in the form of exports and product licences or indirectly through the renown such clubs may bring to their country or region as cultural ambassadors; supports the measures adopted by countries or regions to safeguard or enhance the competitiveness of their most prestigious clubs, provided that the same basic rules apply to all and the measures comply with Community law; stresses, too, that the positive development of popular and recreational sports is crucial for the social and economic development of a region, particularly to make the region attractive to young people and to keep young people in the region; supports the involvement of the most prestigious sports clubs in popular and recreational sports; stresses that this involvement is in the public interest;

6.  Points to the great disparities between the different regions and Member States with regard to the social and economic importance of various sports, as well as in the relative size and popularity of the major clubs in the leading professional sports; therefore believes that the differences in the ways in which revenue is composed and generated, in how support is provided, and in the approach taken to ensuring competitive balance, are both justifiable and necessary; believes, however, that in order to safeguard the social and economic importance of sport in all regions and in the smaller entities, it's important to encourage the involvement of the sport clubs in social solidarity actions and in optional social solidarity mechanisms; considers that the social involvement of sports clubs in popular sports and the use of high-quality sports facilities by all social groups can make a major contribution to social and economic cohesion, and therefore considers such involvement to be vital;

7.  Calls on the Commission and Member States, as part of their sustainable development strategies, to provide funding for sports-related infrastructures and projects under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), as well as providing for the possible use of new funding instruments (including JEREMIE and JESSICA):

8.  Proposes that an effective mechanism be set up for promoting cross-border and inter-regional cooperation so as to make better use of infrastructure investments connected to sporting events; further proposes to encourage the promotion of sport through the European grouping of territorial cooperation as provided for by Regulation (EC) No 1082/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 on a European grouping of territorial cooperation (EGTC)⁽¹⁾;

9.  Calls on the Commission to ensure that, when drawing up proposals relating to matters which are highly sensitive as regards the development of sports in the Member States, such as image rights, the management of broadcasting rights or sports betting, it complies strictly with the subsidiarity principle and pays due regard to the experience and individual characteristics of each Member State, as well as to the transfer of powers to the relevant national regions which may ensue;

10.   Stresses the role of regions and local authorities in organising professional and recreational sports events, developing infrastructure and promoting sport and a healthy lifestyle among EU citizens, particularly schoolchildren.

11.  Recommends that the social policy of the Member Statesalways take into account the important integrative role of sport for immigrant populations and the development of values inherent in sport, such as cohabitation, tolerance and solidarity;

12.  Calls on the Member States, bearing in mind the importance of inclusive sport, to create opportunities for athletes and pupils with disabilities to engage in everyday sporting activities both in school and outside ;

13.  Given the need to adopt a horizontal approach to questions concerning the protection of the environment and health, recommends that the Commission encourage the promotion of environmental and health protection on the occasion of European sporting events;

14.  Acknowledges the importance of sport in health protection and for this reason recommends that the owners of the broadcasting rights promote publicity for sport as such;

15.  Calls on the Member States – since one of the objectives of the White Paper is the introduction of daily sporting activity in educational establishments – to make physical education compulsory at every level of the educational system, from primary school to higher education;

16. Recommends that the Member States use a significant percentage of their income from sports to cover sports-related expenditure at national and local level;

17. Advises the Commission – in view of the fact that efforts towards cohesion within the EU are extremely important to the new Member States, and that the proportion of the population in the new Member States who regularly participate in sport is worryingly low – that the EU should aim to considerably increase that figure in the next five years.

RESULT OF FINAL VOTE IN COMMITTEE

(1) OJ L 210, 31.7.2006, p 19.

SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on Legal Affairs calls on the Committee on Culture and Education, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions in its motion for a resolution:

1.   Points out that, although the existing Treaty does not contain provisions conferring specific competence for sport, sport is not excluded from the scope of Community law and is covered more specifically in terms of the ban on discrimination (Article 12 of the Treaty), free movement of workers (Article 39), freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services (Articles 43 and 49) and the competition rules (Articles 81 to 87); further points out that the provisions on employment, social policy, culture, education and health also have an impact on sport;

2.   States that sport must ensure the interdependence of competitors and the need to guarantee the uncertainty of results of competitions, which could justify the implementation by sports organisations on the market of a specific framework for the production and sale of sporting events;

3.   Considers that the specific characteristics of sport do not warrant an automatic exemption from the EU competition rules of any economic activities generated by sport;

4.   Considers that, in view of the unique characteristics of sport, the Commission should consider, after consulting the various interests concerned and Parliament, the adoption of interpretative guidelines designed to clarify the whole question of the relationship between Community law and "sporting rules" that do not fall within the remit of that law and the area to which that law applies, in particular the demarcation between those aspects of the organisation of sport which are subject to that law and those rules which are not, having regard also to the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, and bearing in mind that sporting rules concerning questions of purely sporting interest and having as such nothing to do with economic activity do not fall within the scope of the Treaty; considers that this demarcation should take account of the distinction between professional and amateur sports; points out that such rules, which relate to the particular nature and context of sporting events, are inherent in the organisation and proper conduct of sporting competition and cannot be regarded as constituting a restriction on the Community rules on free movement of workers and freedom to provide services, provided that the restrictive effects on competition are proportionate to the legitimate genuine sporting interest pursued;

5.   Asks the sporting organisations to accept the right of recourse to ordinary courts while recognising the principle of self-regulation in sport, the structures of the European Sports model and the principles governing the organisation of sporting competitions;

6.   Takes the view that simply relying on the Court of Justice to rule in the last resort produces an unsatisfactory case-by-case approach and a lack of legal certainty, especially since the reasoning in the case-law is not invariably clear or consistent, as witness the line of cases from Walrave to Meca-Medina; notes the complexity of separating commercial competition aspects from purely sporting matters, which is such that some matters do have to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, and therefore opposes any moves seeking block exemption from the competition rules laid down by Articles 81 and 82 of the Treaty;

7.   Notes that recognition of players' agents' professional qualifications is covered by Directive 2005/36/EC⁽¹⁾ where the profession is subject to national rules;

8.   Considers that illicit practices on the part of some players' agents (corruption, money laundering, trafficking in under-age players) could warrant adoption of a legislative act laying down minimum professional requirements for players' agents (knowledge of specific subjects, respectability, no conflict of interests, e.g. as a result of dual representation, etc.);

9.   Strongly supports the UEFA club licensing system and calls for the Europe-wide adoption of such best practices;

10. Considers that, even though central marketing of television rights constitutes a horizontal restriction of competition under Article 81(1) of the Treaty, it does produce efficiencies to be read in the light of Article 81(3), and that such arrangements are acceptable provided that they are consistent with the principles of solidarity between clubs, transparency, accountability and objectivity;

11. Calls on Member States to adopt regulatory measures which ensure that sport is protected from any improper influence associated with betting; believes that there is a particular need to reduce the supply of betting opportunities and to address the risk of conflicts between the economic interests of a betting company and sporting results; calls on Member States to prohibit the ownership of sports clubs, or commercial involvement in them (e.g. sponsorship), by betting companies, as well as betting companies' links with sportspersons, unless the betting companies exclude the club or sportsperson in question from their sports betting offer;

12. Specifically asks the Commission and the Member States to explore with sport and betting operators the creation of a workable, equitable and sustainable framework to ensure that all sports in Europe remain free from the pollution of illegal betting and retain the trust of the European sporting public;

13. Acknowledges the right of the Member States to take measures to protect the right to information and to ensure wide access by the public to television coverage of national or non-national sport events of major importance for society, such as the Olympic Games, the football World Cup and the UEFA European Football Championship;

14. Emphasises the rapidly changing nature of the European sport economy, which is increasingly based on investment in and development of innovative sports content through digital technologies; recognises the need to prevent the undermining of intellectual property rights and goodwill, to minimise piracy and to reduce the scope for illegal operations in online environments;

15. Expresses concern at the – sometimes systematic – erosion of copyright by users of social networking sites; recognises the exciting development of “user-generated” content, but also the increased risk of copyright abuse; considers that, where technology permits embedded or attached identification of a copyright indication, it is not unreasonable to require filtering to detect such an indication by the service providers of the sites as well as more pro-active takedown procedures; considers, however, that some standardisation of the technology is desirable in order to prevent the filtering requirement from being over-burdensome;

16. Recognises legitimate concerns of sports organisations regarding 'ambush marketing'; notes, in this context, that trademark and copyright law may not always be wide enough to prevent this parasitic practice; observes that review of the provisions of 'passing off' law, available in some Member States, may indicate ways forward for possible remedies.

RESULT OF FINAL VOTE IN COMMITTEE

(1) OJ L 255, 30.9.2005, p. 22.

SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs calls on the Committee on Culture and Education, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions in its motion for a resolution:

1.   Calls on the Commission and the Member States to implement an ‘intelligence-led policy’ of cross-border police cooperation in the field of sport, including the exchange of information and intelligence between security services, while ensuring respect for freedom, fundamental rights and data protection rules;

2.   Points out that sport (and, in particular, certain forms of sport which have already been professionalised) has become or is becoming a global business forming part of a global market and the globalisation process;

3.   Points out that that globalisation is altering relations between those involved in sport and bringing new situations into being, and that the Member States adopt different approaches to the new challenges, for which reason there is a need for sound, consistent political and legislative solutions which are consonant with the EU’s basic principles and values and with all that is set out in the EU Treaties;

4.   Underlines the need – besides adopting preventive, dissuasive and repressive measures – to create the conditions for a more comprehensive approach capable of tackling and combating risks related to sport events, involving all the stakeholders in a strategy designed to strengthen the non-repressive aspects of the response to challenges, with a strong focus on education and training, as well as the exchange of best practices;

5.   Draws particular attention to the valuable experience gained through the NFIPs (National Football Information Points, responsible for coordinating and facilitating cross-border police information exchange, including risk assessments and data on high-risk supporters) and the handbook for international police cooperation, which can play a key role in this ‘intelligence-led policy’; calls on the Commission and the Member States to cooperate more extensively and to further develop and update this approach where necessary;

6.   Strongly urges the Member States and all organisations and institutions with sports responsibilities to redouble their efforts in the fight against the use, supply and sale of illegal doping products;

7.   Calls on the Commission and the Member States to take the measures needed to tackle trafficking in, and the exploitation, of minor sportsmen/women, and believes that additional arrangements are necessary in order to ensure that the 'home-grown initiative' does not lead to child trafficking;

8.   Urges the Commission to devote part of any possible future preparatory action in the field of sport to the issue of the protection of minors;

9.   Calls on the Commission and the Member States to take all relevant measures to prevent major sport events from encouraging the trafficking in and abuse of human beings, for example forced prostitution and any other practice which infringes fundamental rights;

10. Underlines the need for measures to prevent racist attitudes and for serious monitoring of the enforcement of legislation on racism and xenophobia and any other kind of violence and discrimination within the framework of sport events, without excluding the strict application of existing legislation; urges the Commission and the Member States to incorporate into their policies measures which will promote values such as solidarity, tolerance and non-discrimination;

11. Calls on the Member States to incorporate gender mainstreaming in all stages of sports policies with a view to steadily narrowing the gap which still exists between men and women in terms of representation within sports bodies, financial reward and actual involvement in sport, so that both sexes can derive the same personal and social benefit from sport;

12. Welcomes the development of club licensing systems at national and European level and believes that such systems should also include provisions related to the prevention of racism, xenophobia and violence, the protection of minors and respect for fundamental rights;

13. Underlines the absolute need to enhance police and judicial cooperation between Member States and European police institutions with a view to combating more effectively the different types of offence committed during sport events or in the area of sport (such as the supply and use of doping products, human trafficking etc).

RESULT OF FINAL VOTE IN COMMITTEE

SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality calls on the Committee on Culture and Education, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions in its motion for a resolution:

A.  whereas, despite some progress having been made in the area of gender equality at European level, inequities between men and women in sports continue to persist,

B.   whereas women are underrepresented at all hierarchical and administrative levels in sports,

1.   Calls on the Member States to proffer comparable support and opportunities for physical education and sport for both women and men, by providing for sports programmes that are more egalitarian in order to correct the present imbalances;

2.   Welcomes the Commission's White Paper on Sport, which addresses sport-related issues in a comprehensive manner; regrets, however, that the gender aspect is not adequately taken into account, especially regarding equal pay for equal value and the fact that female women athletes earn less than their male counterparts;

3.   Takes note of the Commission's support for the right to information and wide access for citizens to broadcasts of sports events;

4.   Refers to analyses showing that the focus of only 10 % of all reports and sports coverage concern women; calls on the Commission to pursue the principle of equal treatment between women and men also in terms of the reporting of sport in the media;

5.   Calls on the Member States to monitor the use of public funds earmarked for sport and to check that these are allocated equally to the needs of sportswomen and sportsmen;

6.   Calls on the Member States and sporting organisations to provide career opportunities for women in fields linked to the world of sport, including in decision-making posts;

7.   Calls on the Member States to promote women’s sporting activities, not just at a very early age, but throughout their whole lives, including old age, because, as people live longer, the active part of their lives lasts longer too;

8.   Calls on the Commission and the Member States to improve the protection of women in sports through the promotion of effective preventive policies, awareness-raising programs and severe sanctioning of sexual harassment and abuse in sports;

9.   Calls on the Member States to encourage media coverage of women’s sporting activities in order to foster the emergence of female role models and overcome gender stereotyping;

10. Calls on the Member States to give recognition to sporting successes achieved by women in the same way as those achieved by men; stresses the importance of non-discriminatory rules governing sports competitions, by fixing equivalent prizes for men and women;

11. Emphasises that women and men who participate in non-professional competitive sport receive no state protection in respect of health, social security or injury, or maternity or paternity support, and calls on the Member States to introduce measures to ensure adequate protection;

12. Stresses the importance of medical advice for women on the potential benefits to be gained from physical activity during pregnancy and after childbirth, such as improved blood circulation and a reduction in some of the discomfort experienced during pregnancy, such as constipation and fatigue, as well as a reduction in stress and physical and emotional tension;

13. Calls on the Member States to give greater standing to sporting activities in school curricula for boys and girls, in order to encourage and educate them to participate in sporting activities while also promoting access to sports careers and advancement therein;

14. Points out that banning girls from taking part in sports, swimming or school tuition due to cultural diversity are not justified by any culture or religion and must not be tolerated;

15. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to step up prevention and health checks for young sportspeople and ensure that all the rights enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child are respected;

16. Calls on the Member States to support the functioning of sporting organisations, clubs and associations providing sporting activity for senior citizens, particularly women;

17. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to combat the exploitation of girls and boys in sports and child trafficking by strictly enforcing existing laws and rules; suggests that a higher level of legal security, in particular in the application of the 'home-grown players rule', is desirable.

RESULT OF FINAL VOTE IN COMMITTEE