On October 26th, a delegation led by the president of the CNOSF, Denis Masseglia, participated in Brussels in a lunch-debate with several French members of the European Parliament: Ms. Auconie, Ms. Sanchez-Schmid, Mr. Audy, Mr. Cadec, Mr. Bennahmias, and Mr. Franco (elected representative from the Alpes-Maritimes).
The European Commission as well as the Representation of France to the EU also participated in this meeting which aimed to exchange views on the EU’s policy regarding sport.
While the framework for EU action in this sector is not yet defined, this exchange was indeed an opportunity to review the future EU initiatives in sports and to present the numerous expectations of the French sports movement.
The French sports movement presents its recommendations
President Masseglia reminded of the position of the French Olympic and sports movement on the implementation of the new EU competence related to sport provided by the Lisbon Treaty, based on the reflection initiated since June 2008 during the French Presidency of the EU. He also presented the recommendations adopted in June 2010 by the CNOSF’s Professional Sports Commission in response to the consultation conducted by the European Commission on the impact of the Lisbon Treaty on sport.
Denis Masseglia emphasized the need for recognizing the autonomy of the sports movement, considering the specificity of sport based on Article 165 of the TFEU, the structured dialogue between the EU and the sports movement, securing funding for sports organizations (and recognizing the right to property extended to sports betting), and financial solidarity mechanisms, not to mention the social (especially health) and educational role of sport. The president of the CNOSF also expressed concerns about the delay in implementing the EU sports financing program, planned from 2014 despite the announcements made this year by the European Commission.
Parliamentary reflections on the promotion of sport
Among the current topics in the European Parliament, Ms. Auconie recalled the importance of future discussions on sports governance. On this point, Mr. Bennahmias mentioned the European pyramidal sports model and demanded deeper control of finance and management of sports clubs at the European level.
Mr. Audy emphasized the disparities in national legislations related to labor law in the sports sector, linking this point to the rule of locally trained players while Mr. Cadec drew attention to the need for defending the mechanisms of solidarity between professional and amateur sports. Ms. Sanchez-Schmid indicated that the European Parliament was currently exploring how sports promotion could be considered at the European level, particularly mentioning its future funding. In this regard, the idea of a European day dedicated to sport was debated, focused on the sport-health issue, as it was organized in France in September 2010.
On the eve of the publication of the European Commission’s Communication on sport (December 2010) and a busy agenda both in the European Parliament (hearing of the sports movement on November 18 in the presence of Patrick Hickey, president of the European Olympic Committees) and in the EU Council (meeting of the Sports Ministers on November 18 in Brussels), it was necessary for the CNOSF to express itself to the elected French representatives in the European Parliament.
(source CROS Cote Azur)
