Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-09-07-Speech-4-012"
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"en.20000907.1.4-012"2
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"Mr President, Parliament has asked me to make a statement on the transfer system and on the whole panic which has gripped the world of sport and which the press has been echoing. I have naturally taken note of Mrs Buffet's statements. Let me also convey to her my sincere thanks for the work that the French Presidency has been doing in the interests of sport and for the solidarity it has demonstrated with the Commission and with Parliament. It is my fervent hope that these efforts by the French Presidency will be rewarded with a very favourable outcome for sport at the European level.
Mario Monti and I are pleased to learn that our plea seems to have been heeded this time. Last week FIFA admitted that its transfer rules do not conform to Community legislation, and it announced its intention of establishing a new system. Since the details of that system have yet to be finalised, I cannot comment on them at the present time. We have, however, received an initial outline of the proposals. This afternoon I shall be meeting with FIFA officials and a delegation from the national leagues. They too will be making proposals. Mario Monti's departments are ready to examine these, within the shortest possible time, with the aid of my departments and those of Anna Diamantopoulou. Our doors are always open to any debate or any negotiations that will help us to arrive at a consensus.
Allow me to conclude by underlining the commitment of the Commission to the European model of sport and its values. The European Parliament has affirmed on many occasions – for which I am deeply grateful to it – that it shares this commitment. I believe you will reaffirm this by adopting the parliamentary report devoted to the Helsinki report. The French Presidency, as I said at the start of my speech, has testified to this same attachment to sport and its values on behalf of the Council. So, if I am not mistaken, we are all on the same wavelength. The Commission is acting in the interests of sport to preserve the beautiful game, and I am convinced that, if we all pull our weight, a satisfactory solution will soon be in sight for the good of sport, for the good of football and for the good of Europe.
Mr President, I shall respond to the report on doping in sport and sport in society at the end of the debate, if I may. For the moment I shall confine myself to a statement on the transfer issue.
The approach that the Commission has adopted with regard to sport is defined in its Helsinki report. We want sport to have a social function. This report invites the sporting community, the Member States and the European Union to pool their efforts in order to ensure that sport, in its new economic environment, will continue to act as an instrument of education and integration on the basis of its values of fair play, equal opportunities and the pursuit of merit.
It goes without saying that the provisions of Community law, especially those based on the principles of non-discrimination and free movement of persons, as well as the rules of competition, are applicable to sport. It is equally self-evident that, as the declaration annexed to the Treaty of Amsterdam emphasises, the European Community recognises the social impact of sport and the importance of dialogue with the sporting community. This is the context, ladies and gentlemen, in which the Commission, under the direct responsibility of my colleague Mario Monti, has been examining several aspects of competition as they relate to sport.
The Commission recognises that the sporting community is free to determine the rules that will ensure the proper administration of their respective sports. The Commission recognises the specific nature of sport in the sense that some degree of equality is needed in competition between players and clubs so as to guarantee the uncertainty of results, which is the very essence of sport, as the Minister has just emphasised. The Commission is investigating only those aspects of sport with a Community dimension and an economic dimension.
Regarding the matter of current FIFA rules governing transfers, I must remind you that, back in 1998, following a number of complaints, the Commission questioned the compatibility of the FIFA transfer rules with the rules of competition and sent FIFA a list of grievances. The Commission believes that the FIFA rules on transfers unfairly obstruct freedom of movement. This is especially true of the rules which lay down conditions of transfer on expiry of a player's contract, even though the contract has been duly terminated in accordance with national employment legislation and with its own terms and the contractually agreed financial indemnity has been determined and paid.
Contrary to what some press articles have been suggesting, the Commission has no intention of simply abolishing the transfer system or of creating a situation in which players would be able to terminate their contracts on a sudden impulse. The Commission, as the Guardian of the Treaties, wishes FIFA to apply a transfer system which complies with the principles of Community law as well as respecting the unique nature of sport. The present system, however, satisfies neither of these criteria. It obstructs competition between clubs as well as players' freedom of movement, it has done nothing to prevent the over-commercialisation of sport or the widening of the gulf between the rich clubs and those with limited financial resources, nor has it prevented players – especially the youngest players – from becoming targets of financial speculation.
For many years, ladies and gentlemen, the Commission has been waiting 'patiently' for FIFA to present a formula that could replace the present system, to offer a basis on which we could work together in search of a universally satisfactory and equitable solution. Mario Monti and I have established contacts with the footballing world. We have made the point that, under national codes of employment legislation, some form of compensation is warranted when a player breaks his contract with one club in order to join another. We have emphasised that, in order to avoid distorting championship competitions, we are naturally disposed to accept rules limiting transfers to particular fixed periods and, above all, we have stressed that efforts made to develop young talent must be encouraged, which means that we can accept a compensation mechanism designed to reflect the expense incurred by a club in the development of young players, provided that such a mechanism does not put young players in a position of undue dependence on their clubs.
For a number of years, and until a few days ago, we had received no reply. The Commission certainly cannot wait indefinitely, which is why Mario Monti and I have been declaring very plainly over the past few months that FIFA must propose other solutions or run the risk of having its rules banned in the EU – something that no one would wish to happen."@en1
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