Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-09-25-Speech-2-290"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20070925.33.2-290"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"Madam President, I am happy to contribute by answering on the issue of the specificity of sport. It would be very timely to discuss this even in more depth
not now, but later on
because on 11 July this year the Commission adopted a White Paper on sport. This was a very important contribution, which stressed the importance of promoting the training of young, talented sportsmen and sportswomen in proper conditions, which is crucial for the sustainable development of sport at all levels. This was an institutional and very political contribution to the question and to cooperation on this matter.
I quote from the paper: ‘Rules requiring that teams include a certain quota of locally trained players could be accepted as being compatible with the Treaty provisions on free movement of persons if they do not lead to any direct discrimination based on nationality and if possible indirect discrimination effects resulting from them can be justified as being proportionate to a legitimate objective pursued, such as to enhance and protect the training and development of talented young players.’ I think this is a very important clarification of how to understand this issue.
The Commission is currently in the process of evaluating the compatibility of UEFA’s measures on home-grown players with Community law, with a view to striking the right balance between the need to comply, on the one side, with Community law and the autonomy of sports organisations, and with the interests of European football on the other.
This is done in the light of the declaration annexed to the Amsterdam Treaty, the so-called Nice Declaration of the European Council in 2000, and the White Paper on Sport, which specifically mentions, as action number 9 in the Pierre de Coubertin Action Plan, ‘to complete the analysis of rules requiring that teams include a certain quota of locally training players’. This comprehensive comparative information on football academies in Member States and on home-grown players is not available at present.
In 2006, the Commission launched a study on sport academies in Member States, including the issue of home-grown players. The results of this study are expected to provide valuable input for its analysis.
Concerning the second part of the question – because it consists of two sentences on the specificity of sport – Chapter 4 of this White Paper develops the concept of specificity of sport within the limits of existing EU competences. As described in more detail in our Staff Working Document in the annexes, decisions taken by the European Court of Justice and the Commission show that the specificity of sport has been recognised and taken into account in the past. The Commission shares the view that certain values and traditions of European sport should be promoted and will continue to recognise the specificities of this sector, while respecting EU law. However, a case-by-case approach remains the basis for the Commission’s control of the application of EU law, and in particular competition and internal market rules. This is in line with the current Treaty provisions.
In order to provide legal clarity for all stakeholders and to contribute to the improvement of governance in European sport, the above-mentioned Staff Working Document and its two annexes explain in depth this issue of specificity. It concerns sport and EU competition rules and sport and internal market freedoms, and takes stock for the first time of European Court of Justice case-law and Commission decisions in the area of sport.
I want to underline that, for the first time, the specificity of sport is set out in our policy document much more than it has been at any time in the recent past in the EU context. That is one of the most important contributions – not only to this answer, but also to the promotion of sport in the European Union."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples