(Rule 52)

A3-0326/94

Resolution on the European Community and sport

The European Parliament,

-having regard to the motions for resolutions by:

.Mrs Ewing on the protection of popular sporting traditions in Europe

(B3-1909/90),

.Mrs Banotti on the need to reappraise the EC's sports policy (B3-0862/91),

.Mr Gutiérrez Díaz on professional boxing (B3-1512/91),

.Mrs Muscardini on a common logo for athletes from the twelve Community Member States taking part in the next Olympic Games (B3-1725/91),

.Mr Bofill Abeilhe on legislation to outlaw symbols which incite violence in sport (B3-0456/92),

.Mrs Muscardini on the safety of sports installations (B3-0714/92),

-having regard to its resolutions of 13 April 1984 on sport in the Community, 11 July 1985 on hooliganism and violence in sport, 14 October 1987 on women in sport, 22 January 1988 on hooliganism and violence in sport, 16 September 1988 on the European Community's contribution to the Olympic Year 1992, and 17 February 1989 on sport in the European Community and a People's Europe,

-having regard to the work of the Council of Europe concerning sport,

-having regard to the Adonnino report on a People's Europe, which was adopted by the Milan Council in 1985, and more particularly to the passage in this report concerning the contribution of sport to enhancing European citizenship,

-having regard to the decisions which have resulted from the informal Councils of Ministers responsible for sport since 1988,

-having regard to the Commission communication to the Council and the European Parliament of 31 July 1991 on 'The European Community and Sport' (SEC(91)1438),

-having regard to the consultations and decisions resulting from the meetings of the European Sports Forum in 1991, 1992 and 1993,

-having regard to the hearing on 'The European Community and Sport' held by the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education and the Media on Thursday 25 November 1993,

-having regard to Rule 45 of the Rules of Procedure,

-having delegated the power of decision to the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education and the Media, pursuant to Rule 52 of the Rules of Procedure,

-having regard to the report of the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education and the Media and the opinion of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Citizens' Rights (A3-0326/94),

A.whereas sport is a focus of interest for many tens of millions of citizens of the European Union in their daily lives, and whereas it should therefore receive political attention and be taken into account in policy at European level as well as at other levels,

B.whereas both active participation in sport and passive spectating make a substantial contribution to the social and cultural identity of European citizens and peoples,

C.whereas the Maastricht Treaty confers new powers on the European Union in the cultural and social sphere and thus strengthens the legal basis for a European policy on sport,

D.whereas any action by the authorities with regard to sport - including action at European level - must be assessed in the light of the principle of subsidiarity and must therefore supplement private initiative and national, regional and local policy and must be determined in close consultation with the parties concerned,

E.whereas the establishment of the single market has important consequences both for sports associations and for individual sportsmen and women, because active participation in sport and passive spectating result in substantial amounts of economic activity,

F.whereas sport is endangered by a number of undesirable phenomena - among which hooliganism, racism and drug abuse are not the least significant - which can be effectively combated only by means of a transfrontier policy approach,

G.whereas action by the authorities in the sports sector should be primarily designed to promote active participation in sport and amateur sport,

H.whereas, bearing in mind the above observations, a more active policy is needed at European Union level and must replace the hesitant and fragmentary action so far taken by the Commission, which has moreover focused too exclusively on external communication,

1.Takes the view that sport and activities associated with it should be governed by general European and national legislation and subject to the jurisdiction of the general European and national courts;

2.Recognizes the important function of sponsoring and patronage in sport but considers that abuses and unacceptable influence must be combated;

3.Takes the view that EU subsidies for top-class sport should make way for a genuine EU policy on sport, which should be elaborated as a supplement to and in conjunction with the sector itself and should be concerned with

-the application of EU legislation to sport,

-promoting active sport,

-combating dangers which threaten sport,

-expanding instruments for an EU sport policy, and therefore:

as regards the consequences of the single market

4.Calls on the Commission to pursue an information policy which achieves genuine results, so as to ensure that EU legislation relevant to sport meets with prompt and effective acceptance;

5.Urges that it be made clear to the sporting world that the legislation of and the administration of justice by the European Union take precedence over internal sports regulations and disciplinary procedures;

6.Calls for obstacles to participation in sport by EU citizens based on nationality, such as 'foreigners rules', to be phased out more rapidly;

7.Demands the elimination of discrimination on grounds of nationality, which is also practised in amateur sport;

8.Calls for the right to join and leave sports clubs freely to be guaranteed without making it dependent on additional conditions which conflict with general law (the transfer system);

9.Urges the Commission to investigate immediately whether both the rules and practices of FIFA, UEFA, and the national football associations and clubs are compatible with EU legislation, to take the appropriate decisions following this investigation and to act accordingly;

10.Calls for the necessary legislation for recognition of diplomas and certificates to be adopted without delay so that trainers, coaches, therapists, etc., may practise their profession in the EU without discrimination on grounds of nationality;

11.Calls for the derogation for sport in the directive on protection against child labour not to result in children being exploited or put under excessive pressure to perform;

12.Calls on the Commission to carry out careful monitoring to ensure that free competition between top-class sports clubs is not distorted by excessive public financing;

13.Hopes that the Commission, the Member States, the two sides of industry and sports associations will draw up a social charter for sportsmen and women;

as regards the promotion of active participation in sport

14.Calls for progress to be made, in connection with the European Year of the Elderly, in the adoption of a specific programme to promote active participation in sport by the elderly;

15.Calls for the emancipatory aspects of sport to be exploited in combating disadvantage by including sport in the relevant EU programmes;

16.Calls, further, for the appropriations for sport for the disabled to be maintained but allocated to projects which genuinely give disabled people the opportunity to participate in sport;

17.Calls upon the two sides of industry to provide scope for sport at the workplace and for the EU institutions to set an example in this respect;

18.Stresses the contribution of school sport to public health, calls on the Member States to include sufficient time for physical recreation in school syllabuses and recommends that the Commission study the participation of young people in sport at school;

19.Hopes that the Commission will support the promotion of women's sport and an increase in the proportion of women in key posts in sport and more actively pursue the recommendations of the its abovementioned resolution of 14 October 1987;

as regards combating violence in and on the periphery of sport

20.Calls on the Commission at long last to tackle seriously the issue of European safety standards for sports stadiums, in accordance with its abovementioned resolution of 22 January 1988;

21.Calls on the Commission, the Member States, European citizens, education systems, sports associations and the media persistently to promote the cause of ethics and fair play in sport and supports the measures taken by the Council of Europe in this respect;

22.Encourages sports associations and Member States to continue without any relaxation their policies to prevent and combat violence among supporters and recommends a comparative study of the impact of this policy on violence in and around sports grounds;

23.Calls on the Commission, Member States, sports associations, sportsmen and women and the media to work actively to eliminate expressions of racism and xenophobia in and in connection with sport;

24.Calls upon officers of sports associations and Member States' policy-makers to ensure strict compliance with safety regulations concerning the equipment and design of sports venues;

as regards instruments for an active EU policy on sport

25.Welcomes the setting up of the European Sports Forum, would like to be involved in it on a permanent basis, would like its activities to be stepped up, and calls on the Council to recognize the role of the European Sports Forum;

26.Urges that sport be used as a means of reducing obstacles to access so as to strengthen, inter alia, the Youth for Europe programme and improve the outreach and accessibility of Community programmes;

27.Calls for EU sports subsidies to be reallocated to small-scale, transfrontier amateur sport which enables citizens to share the European experience and for subsidies to be awarded in consultation with the sporting world, in a more transparent and decentralized manner, and on the basis of objective criteria;

28.Calls on the Commission to draw up a specific programme to promote regional and traditional sports;

29.Calls, in view of the value of sport to society and the economic and employment opportunities it presents, for measures concerning sport to be incorporated in the EU's policy instruments, with appropriations within the Structural Funds being earmarked for sports facilities and training, including vocational training, etc;

30.Calls on the Commission to promote sports management and international research into sport, inter alia by means of exchanges, international seminars and training courses;

31.Calls on the Council and Commission to recognize the opportunities presented by sport in external policy (development policy, association agreements and Central and Eastern Europe);

32.Proposes that, when the Treaty is revised, sport should be included as an area of policy of the European Union and that, until then, the sports unit should remain responsible for coordination and liaison within the Commission (DG X);

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33.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the governments of the Member States and the Council of Europe.