Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-05-13-Speech-1-122"
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"en.20020513.10.1-122"2
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".
Mr President, when I say that it is a pleasure to speak to you today about the European Year of Education through Sport, I mean this sincerely, because I truly believe that we are nearing our goal and that we have finally made a good start to a process that will lead us to great and important things for our societies, but also, and above all, for the young people in these societies.
Having said this, I myself believe that carrying out this type of project is extremely important as is the great symbolic value of the Olympic flame and truce, for example. Not only do I want to ensure that the text of the decision makes such projects possible but I also want to do everything possible, Mrs Pack, so that our partners, both schools and the Olympic committees, take the initiative as part of this European Year. In addition, I have good reason to be optimistic: look at the sport/school political action launched in 2001-2002! This was a pilot project launched by the European Olympic Committees and the Ministers for Education in the three pilot countries: the Netherlands, France and Italy, with the support of the European Commission. This test has already shown that yes, such projects are possible, that we can forge ahead and that we can find partners who wish to support this action.
On this basis, ladies and gentlemen, with your help, I think that, during the European Year of Education through Sport, we will find many associations, many bodies, many volunteers who are willing to help us. This is also one of the key objectives of this European Year, namely to encourage the educational institutions to work in partnership with sporting organisations. Formal training and non-formal education must be combined. Sport encourages values, such as teamwork, solidarity, respect for rules, respect for one’s opponent, thinking of others, so many elements which will be on the agenda during this European Year.
The year 2004 is an Olympic year. It is a year that will be marked by other prestigious events and sport and sportsmen and women will be making headlines practically every day. We must use the impact generated by the media to prove that, as well as sports played at a highly competitive level, which receive generous financial assistance, there is also considerable work being done by civil society, in particular based on the voluntary sector which we must support and encourage. It is this educational and social dimension in which the Community is interested.
We must also thoroughly prepare this year: so many things must be done in advance, for instance work, contacts and scheduling all need to be arranged. That is why I hope, Mr President, that Parliament will make every effort to reach a political agreement with the Council as soon as possible, in order to adopt a common position before the end of the Spanish Presidency, which is what the Presidency really wants. I think that this would be in everyone’s interest. It would certainly benefit the idea that, back in 1996, Mrs Pack proposed and desired; in other words, to place sport and its social and educational dimension in the limelight for the good of Europe, for the good of our societies. Thank you for your help.
There are very few fortunate coincidences in politics but I am very pleased that Mrs Doris Pack is rapporteur today, because it was she who came up with the idea back in 1996. Mrs Pack
[It was worth it in the end.] Let us hope so!
When I became Commissioner, I immediately took up this idea and placed the project on the agenda. I know that it is not the European year of sport that you had wanted. You are also aware, however, and you have also acknowledged this, that the Community has no specific responsibilities in this area. However, this should not prevent us, as the Nice European Council urged us to do, from using the values that sport encourages to strengthen and improve existing Community policies and actions.
In my view, the European Year of Education through Sport is of political, practical and symbolic importance. It is of political importance, as it demonstrates that the Commission is interested in fully harnessing the educational and social values of sport. It is of practical importance as EUR 11.5 million will be released to finance Community, national, regional and local projects and this money will be added to the appropriations that our partners have earmarked for this event, which means that, in 2004, further, ample resources will support the educational dimension of sport. And do not forget that the European Year of Languages was a great success. Why was it successful? Because it was taken up by the people, the citizens and by private associations. It enabled us to make progress. It stimulated a debate, and society itself took charge of it. So, ladies and gentlemen, often, all that is needed is a boost of this kind to bring about change.
Lastly, it is of symbolic importance, because 2004 is an Olympic year. Yet, the Olympic Games are scheduled for the beginning of the century along with other events such as the European, intercontinental and world championships. The European Year will take place throughout the Union, and I think that the eyes of the whole Union will be on this event and it will be a wonderful opportunity to promote the social, educational and cultural values of sport, whilst reminding us of the roots of the Games when sport was not simply a business, but was a festival of culture and education.
I knew, Mr President, that I would find an ally in the European Parliament. Not simply because the idea was conceived here, in Parliament, but also because the Commission has always had the firm support of Members to place the ideas and values of sport on the education agenda.
It was a pleasure to read Mrs Pack’s report and I did so with interest. Not only does Mrs Pack support our proposal, but she also improves it in a number of areas. Some aspects of the report will however merit particular attention and will provoke some reservations within the Commission. They are not fundamental problems; rather, they are reservations that have been inspired by legal concerns, or quite simply because we believe that certain ideas that have been expressed exceed the framework of the legislative provision.
First of all, Amendment No 7, which designates three specific sporting events in addition to the Olympic Games in Athens. I think this is tantamount to inviting speculation regarding the hierarchy of different types of sports and levels of competition in terms of media coverage and public interest. Since any list of this kind is highly contestable and most certainly incomplete, I think that it would be preferable not to list any of them and include all of them.
Secondly, Amendment No 22 and Amendments Nos 29 and 38 which refer to it cannot, unfortunately, be accepted by the Commission. It is not that I do not think the idea of organising inter-school competitions, of encouraging partnerships between academic organisations and sporting organisations, of benefiting from the symbolic and media impact of the flame is not both excellent and feasible – very much the opposite in fact – but the Commission itself has no authority to organise projects of this type. It has no competence in this area, I reiterate the autonomy of the sporting movement, on the one hand, and the autonomy of the Member States in organising studies, on the other hand. We cannot therefore impose such partnerships from above."@en1
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"was lange währt, wird endlich gut."1
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