Sport policy of the European Union

The sport policy of the European Union deals with the measures that the European Union takes to strengthen the inclusive component of sport at the European level. Before the Lisbon Treaty , sport policy had no legal basis, but was instead governed by the case law of the European Court of Justice and general provisions. It was not until the Treaty of Lisbon, the EU received with Art. 165 TFEU in the sports sector's skills. While the main responsibility remains with the Member States, the EU should act in a coordinating and supporting manner.

The evolution of sports policy before the Lisbon Treaty

The sports policy had no legal basis in the European Union. But that did not mean that the EU did not recognize the economic and social role of sport. In the 1980s, Citizens' Europe opened the discussion about sport. As early as 1991 the European Commission initiated a platform, the so-called "EU Sport Forum", which brought the various sports associations together and was supposed to serve as a forum for dialogue. The Commission also started publishing communications, discussion papers and discussions.

Nevertheless, according to the treaties, the EU did not have its own competences in the field of sport. With the Amsterdam Treaty of 1997, the member states gave the signal that the issue of sport should now be given more attention. However, this joint declaration by all member states had no legal, but only political significance. The Treaty of Nice also emphasized the social, cultural and educational values ​​of sport, but sport was still not given a legally binding anchoring in the treaty. Nevertheless, the will to find a balance between the commercialization of sport and its values ​​can be seen here. The European Parliament has also started to publish a number of own-initiative reports on this topic. A full report on the EU's role in sport (Rapporteur: Doris Pack ) was made available to the public on 28 May 1997 . 2004 was also the "European Year of Education through Sport".

Even if the EU did not have any express competences in the field of sport before 2009, certain EU actors have long felt called upon to initiate sport policy. The EU's activities in relation to sport are largely based on sport-specific aspects of other areas of competence: internal market , competitiveness , health policy , security policy , regional policy and police cooperation in the fight against doping. If sport takes part in economic life, it is subject to EU law .

The European Commission made a significant step in 2007 with its White Paper on Sport. This emphasized the economic and social role of sport. Measures to strengthen the social role of sport are e.g. B. combating doping, working with third countries and promoting citizenship through sport.

The introduction of EU responsibility for sport policy with the Lisbon Treaty

In the Lisbon Treaty , sport was set down as a goal of the European Union for the first time and included in the catalog of competencies in Article 6 of the TFEU . The precise provisions on this can be found in Article 165 of the TFEU, where it says in paragraph 1: “The Union contributes to the promotion of the European dimension of sport, taking into account its special characteristics, its structures based on voluntary commitment and its social and educational aspects Function". The European Union's sport policy focuses on developing the European dimension of sport and on promoting cooperation with third countries and international organizations, in particular the Council of Europe .

Legal consequences

The competences of the EU in the field of sport are limited to the coordination, promotion and support function within the meaning of Art. 6 TFEU; a harmonization of the sports law provisions is therefore excluded. The main responsibility remains in the hands of the Member States. However, the new sporting goods do not override provisions on the European internal market or EU competition law .

Institutional consequences

The Treaty of Lisbon gave various EU institutions new responsibilities in the field of sport policy. The former Council for Education, Youth and Culture was expanded to become the Council for Education, Youth, Culture and Sport . The first meeting of the Member States' ministers responsible for sport took place in May 2010. Within the European Commission, sport has been assigned to the Directorate-General for Education and Culture . The European Parliament can have a say in the funding of support measures within the EU budget .

Financial consequences

The creation of an EU sports funding program was also planned with Art. 165 TFEU . With a funding program, the European Commission gives direct grants to public or private institutions in the member states. These funds are used for projects that are supranational in nature and that are related to the policies of the European Union. The introduction of a sports promotion program shows that sport should be given more consideration in the future.

The current developments

The failure of the EU sports funding program in 2012 and 2013

A sports budget line was launched in 2009. This should serve to test suitable networks and processes in different sport-relevant areas. In this way, preliminary work should be done for a future sports promotion program. In December 2010, however, it became clear that there would be no EU sports funding programs in 2012 and 2013. The reasons for this are that there are no free funds in the current EU budget, which is valid until the end of 2013. In concrete terms, this means that after the “Preparatory Measures” program expires in 2012 and 2013, no funding will be available specifically for sport.

Since the EU sports funding programs for 2012–2013 failed, the European sports associations are calling for better conditions for sports funding in Europe. For this reason, the EOC EU office has published a position paper that is supported by various sports associations. This paper offers specific suggestions for anchoring sport more firmly in existing funding programs.

The communication from the EU Commission on "Developing a European Dimension in Sport"

On January 18, 2010, the European Commission published its long awaited Communication on “Developing a European Dimension in Sport”. This communication, in turn, recognizes the social and economic dimension of sport. In its communication, the Commission proposes concrete measures to strengthen the economic, social and organizational aspects of sport. As regards the social aspects of sport, the Commission is promoting e.g. For example, women's access to leadership positions in sport, increased coordination between Member States in the fight against doping and the promotion of transnational anti-doping networks. On the economic side, for example, the Commission encourages the exchange of best practices on how to finance sport in a transparent and sustainable manner.

EU Work Plan for Sport 2011-2014

At a regular council meeting on May 20, 2011, the ministers responsible for sport policy from the EU member states approved a work plan for sport 2011-2014. The work plan describes a total of nine measures along three priorities. Six groups of experts will be appointed for three years until 2014 to implement the measures. A report from the European Commission is expected in 2013.

Priorities of the Polish Presidency in 2011

On July 1, 2011, Poland took over the presidency of the EU and will take over the chairmanship of the Council of Ministers for Sport Policy. The Polish Presidency has formulated the following key issues:

• the dangers to the integrity of sporting events, especially match fixing and doping
• the social dimension of sport, in particular voluntary work and volunteering
• Developing the economic dimension of sport

The perspectives of EU sports policy

Between 2012 and 2020, further EU sports funding programs should actually appear. But the EU sports funding program for 2014 already seems uncertain. At the end of October, the commission published the "Budget Review", in which the proposal is made to bring the existing funding programs for education, culture and sport under one roof. This means that there may not be any independent EU sports funding programs. The problems arose earlier, as top-level sport organized by the national state with professional nationally organized leagues (e.g. the Bundesliga ) contradicts the principles of freedom of establishment in the EU.

In the coming months, other EU institutions will take a position on the Commission's communication. The Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council will also adopt a resolution on the document this year and the European Parliament will publish a report. Organized sports representatives had the opportunity to exchange views at the European Sports Forum on February 21 and 22 in Budapest .

On November 8, 2011, the EU Commission awarded grants between EUR 125,000 and EUR 200,000 to twelve transnational projects. The aim of the funds is to be grassroots campaigns to promote physical activity, social inclusion through sport and to combat doping. According to the EU Commission, the new grants are part of the “Preparatory Measures” package with a view to starting an EU sub-program for sport.

Web links

• Overview of the fundamentals, responsibilities and current developments in education, youth, cultural and sports policy in the European Union of the European Movement Germany network

• Mittag, Jürgen: Lemma: Sportpolitik , in: Werner Weidenfeld / Wolfgang Wessels (ed.): Yearbook of European Integration 2015, Baden-Baden 2015, pp. 229–230.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Education, youth, culture and sport. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on December 19, 2010 ; Retrieved January 1, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ^ Otto Singer: Sports policy of the European Union after the Lisbon Treaty. (PDF; 164 kB) (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on August 16, 2011 ; Retrieved April 23, 2010 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ^ White Paper on Sport. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on February 4, 2009 ; Retrieved February 9, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
4. ↑ European sport policy. Retrieved February 9, 2009 . 
5. ^ Council formation for education, youth, culture and sport. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on December 19, 2010 ; Retrieved February 9, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
6. ↑ No EU sports funding program 2012 and 2013. Accessed on December 10, 2010 . 
7. ↑ Mainstreaming Sport into EU Funding Programs. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on May 29, 2012 ; Retrieved January 1, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
8. ^ DOSB: Better conditions for sports funding in Europe. (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; Retrieved March 2, 2011 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
9. ↑ Communication on “Developing a European Dimension in Sport”. Retrieved January 18, 2011 . 
10. ↑ EU Commission publishes communication on sport. (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; Retrieved February 10, 2011 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
11. ↑ cf. Council resolution on a European Union work plan for sport (PDF; 155 kB)
12. ↑ Conclusions of the Council (PDF; 145 kB) of May 20, 2011, page 19 (English)
13. ↑ Poland takes over the EU Council Presidency. German Olympic Sports Confederation, accessed on July 28, 2011 . 
14. ↑ Draft program: Public hearing on the subject of professional football - market or society? (PDF; 159 kB) European Parliament , accessed on August 5, 2016 (participants: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge , Arnd Krüger , Hein Verbruggen and others). 
15. ↑ Awarded project funds for nonviolence and tolerance in sport. European Commission, accessed November 9, 2011 . 
16. ↑ Overview of the funds awarded at europa.eu