Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-11-12-Speech-1-085"
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"en.20071112.17.1-085"2
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"Madam President, congratulations to Mr Schmitt on this excellent report, and also once more to Commissioner Figeľ on the White Paper on Sport. I should like to reiterate that clearly, as this represents a very important step forward, particularly in view of the section on sport contained in the EU Reform Treaty.
Ladies and gentlemen, the European Union’s involvement with sport is not evident to everyone; however, whether we like it or not, a number of aspects of sport must be examined from a European angle.
I shall select one such aspect: the plea in Mr Schmitt’s report for extra financial support for sports clubs that actively collaborate with schools. This can be fitted perfectly into the ‘open sports ground policy’, including in the case of professional sports clubs. Besides, ladies and gentlemen, sport is an excellent instrument to restore enthusiasm for school and education among socially disadvantaged groups of young people. I think that this aspect of sport, too, deserves maximum support.
Then there is of course the obesity problem. This needs to be addressed urgently. As we read in the Schmitt report, ever more young people are having to deal with this. In the EU-27, one in four children is now overweight, not because they eat too much, or have a poor diet, but chiefly owing to insufficient physical activity.
Hence the report’s appeal to the Member States and the regions to allocate a minimum of three hours a week to sport and include this in the timetable of primary and secondary schools. This appeal comes not a minute too soon. We cannot impose this at European level – nor do we want to, of course – but we can mark defaulting Member States and regions as being bottom of the class. Indeed, this is also an economic necessity, for – as we know – childhood obesity is one of the causes of cardiovascular disease, including in later life.
Thus, we have every interest in investing more time and energy in school sports facilities."@en1
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