Viviane Reding: "Challenges in the field of sport in the enlarged EU" (Budapest Conference)

Minister, Mr. President, Secretary General, ladies and gentlemen,

I am most pleased to accept your invitation to take part in this conference on "The European Union and sport", organised in Budapest. I am particularly pleased to have this opportunity to speak at a time which is so important for European sport.

As member of the European Commission with responsibility for education and culture, it is always a pleasure to come to Hungary, a land of history, tradition and culture. A year ago the great writer IMRE KERTESZ received the Nobel literature prize, attesting to the strength and vitality of your literature. Hungary also has a strong sporting tradition and has legendary sports figures. Who could ever forget Hungary's great football team of the 1950s, the « Magical Magyars » who, led by FERENC PUSKAS, then dominated world football. Hungary has always been and will always remain a great sports nation and will undoubtedly help to consolidate the place of sport in the Community context.

We are about to reach a crossroads. In a few months' time, enlargement will be a reality and you will become part of the great European Union family. Along with nine other countries, Hungary will soon play a full part in the ongoing process of building a European sports' policy and I am delighted at this. This entry into the European Union will not be an unprepared arrival, including for the sports' policy. Indeed, Hungarian representatives already participated in various sports ministers' meetings. Generally speaking, the regular reports on the progress made by Hungary along the road to accession clearly show that most of the work has been done in all areas. At the same time, a period of transition has been provided for in the interests of all concerned and in order to smooth over the path to integration. Let me give you an example which concerns the familiar case of professional athletes. Some top-level Hungarian sportspersons already play abroad and this concerns them! On the subject of freedom of movement and equal treatment, the EU Court of Justice's KOLPAK ruling of May 2003 brought substantial clarification. It is clear that the principle of non-discrimination in working conditions, treatment, dismissal, etc. fully applies to Hungarians. On the other hand, the principle of freedom of movement will only be fully effective in seven years' time, i.e. in 2011, when the transition period will have been completed. Access to the territory of each of the 25 Member States of the Union will continue to be a matter of national jurisdiction.

October 2003 is a good time to take stock of what is currently happening in Community sport. First of all, in view of the major events which are looming up on the horizon: the work of the intergovernmental conference the now familiar ICG-, the European Year of Education through Sport, etc. It is at the same time an opportunity to cast a look back over the past and see what has been achieved.

On the international scene, European sport is prominent and often leads the field. On the whole, the European sports movement has managed to reconcile elite sport and sport for everyone, competitive sport and leisure sport, economic requirements and the joy of playing, the quest for results and sporting ethics, thanks partly to steps taken by the public authorities. I will not attempt to conceal certain recurrent problems doping, the ever-increasing drift towards a « money first » approach - etc. We have real problems and I am personally in the front line of the fight against certain undesirable trends and developments. However, all in all, European sport is doing well.

Sport is not a traditional Community theme simply because no provision was ever made in the treaties in regard to specific competence in this area. Let us not forget that from the very start the Community has been an economic Community. Its powers are clearly defined in the treaties and cover the areas of customs union, competition, the internal market, freedom of movement, agriculture, transport, etc. But no mention of sport.

That is not to say that the Community and sport are poles apart, for there are certain Community policies and decisions which have a very definite impact on the world of sport and the way it develops and is organised: social policy, freedom of movement, competition policy, internal market, public procurements, recognition of qualifications, research, audiovisual policy, training, education, youth-related matters, etc. In actual fact, sport has always been present, albeit indirectly, in Community concerns whenever it was perceived as an economic activity. Significantly, the most widely publicised ruling by the Court of Justice in Luxembourg - the Bosman ruling of 1995 - focused on a sports issue concerning freedom of movement. Cases concerning the international transfers of professional players, doping in sport, competitions organised by the International Motor Sports Federation, television rights for major football competitions have also been dealt with in Brussels. So you can see that there are close links between sport and the European Community! And that our influence can be very great and even decisive. On the other hand, for reasons stemming from areas of competence, the European Community, other than in limited exceptional cases, has not so far been involved in financing sport. Admittedly, some resources have been allocated to sport, be it in the framework of the structural policy, of actions to fight against doping, and of policies on research or vocational training. But unlike in certain Member States there are no major programmes which grant subsidies to sports organisations or federations. Our approach has been altogether different. The emphasis has been on ensuring that the economic dimension of sport complies with Community law.

Unfortunately, even though it is fully justified under the terms of the Treaties, this indirect approach to sport through other policies may have given the impression that the Community is not interested in anything but the economic aspects of sport, simply considering it a market like any other. This is regrettable at a time when Europe is opening up to a greater extent to its citizens and is seeking to understand their deeper aspirations and take due account of their daily concerns. I believe we have a duty to correct this impression and I have personally been making efforts to do so, for we do have a role to play in promoting the social and educational values of sport.

This discussion on where sport fits into European integration is by no means new, but the debate has stepped up over the past few months, the focus being placed on consideration by the Community of the specific nature of sport and its intrinsic values.

So how do things stand today?

The adoption on 10 July last by the Convention of its draft constitutional treaty was a breakthrough. For the first time, sport has been incorporated into the founding texts. In this draft Treaty, sport is mentioned as part of « areas of supporting, coordinating or complementary action ». These areas are defined as follows: « In certain areas and in the conditions laid down in the Constitution, the Union shall have competence to carry out actions to coordinate, supplement or support the actions of the Member States, without thereby superseding their competence in these areas »..

The Draft contains no dedicated article on sport but sport is mentioned in relation to education, which gives it highly symbolic value. It stipulates that Union action in the area of sport « shall be aimed at developing the European dimension in sport, by promoting fairness in competitions and cooperation between sporting bodies and by protecting the physical and moral integrity of sportsmen and sportswomen, especially young sportsmen and sportswomen."

The Convention's proposals are a move in the right direction. They would allow the Commission to bring added value to clearly targeted themes such as the social and educational values of sport, voluntary work, protecting the health of sportsmen and sportswomen, etc. They would rule out any attempt to harmonise and would fully respect the areas of responsibility of the Member States, as well as the autonomy of the sports organisations.

This draft article offers us numerous opportunities for co-operation and action, which should now be seized upon. It gives us the wherewithal to highlight the European dimension of sport in terms of its social and educational functions, without impinging on the areas of responsibility of the Member States. I believe everyone stands to gain from this.

I therefore welcome this draft article as a positive development. It is now up to the IGC to move forward quickly and efficiently, which is what the heads of state and government want. This is the moment to seize an historic opportunity, not the moment for drafting sessions, and I hope that we will not miss it due to discussions over details that in the greater scheme of things do not really matter.

The other big event for the Commission is the European Year of Education through Sport 2004. It is the first time that an initiative as ambitious as this has been launched at Community level on sport and its educational values. It has been welcomed enthusiastically by everyone involved in sport and I am anxious that it be a success.

The Decision proclaiming 2004 as the European Year of Education through Sport is good news for those who want a people-focused Europe, a Europe where everyone counts, and I know this goes for Hungary, too. It is the culminating point of several years of work and personal endeavour to promote European sport and its educational values. I know that this work has been followed closely in the candidate countries. 

The European Year aims notably at making educational bodies and sports organisations more aware of the need for co-operation, raising awareness of the positive contribution voluntary work can make, encouraging the example of good practice, promoting the educational value of pupil mobility and exchanges, particularly in a multicultural environment. So, generally speaking, we can say that the point is to promote the educational values of sport (particularly through sport at school) and the use of sport as an instrument of learning.

Like all the acceding countries, Hungary will play a full part in the EYES 2004 as from 1 January 2004. In concrete terms, this means the opportunity to take part in projects and receive project funding. Generally, a European Year has two central aspects: firstly, getting the message across in terms of promoting values and, secondly, funding projects. This is done through calls for proposals designed to select the best projects, the ones which correspond closest to the aims of the Year. This is the Community approach. It guarantees fairness, transparency and equal treatment for everyone with innovative ideas to put forward.

The call for proposals to select projects was published in the Official Journal on 28 May 2003. The first wave of projects, those to prepare the Year in the second half of 2003, have just been selected and approved. The closing date for submitting projects for the second wave was 1 October 2003. That for the third wave is 1 March 2004. The acceding countries are concerned by the second and third deadlines. Moreover, it is these two waves that are the most well-endowed financially.

I am confident that this European Year will be a success in Hungary. My conversations with the Hungarian authorities and the representatives of the sports movement tell me that we are on the same wavelength, that we share the same aims and that we have a common vision of sport.

So there, ladies and gentlemen, is where sport currently stands in the Community. The leitmotif is the safeguarding of a certain image of sport, that of an ethical sport in which the fairness of competitions, the health of sportsmen and sportswomen, and the educational role of sport, remain intact.

I know that the acceding countries, Hungary in particular, are with me on this.

Thank you