PROMOTING THE SOCIAL DIALOGUE IN EUROPEAN PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL (CANDIDATE EU MEMBER STATES) Project under budget heading B3-4000 November 2004 T.M.C. ASSER INSTITUUT Research team: Dr Robert Siekmann (general manager) Roberto Branco Martins Tina Drolec Dovilé Vaigauskaité 3 CONTENTS 1. Introductory remarks 1. The project’s purpose 2. Legal “pilot” study 3. Round Table Sessions 4. Final Report 2. Country and conference reports 2.1. Cyprus and Malta 2.1.1. Cyprus: country report 1. Legal basis for the fixed-term contract in professional football 2. Implementation of the Council Directive 1999/70 3. Termination of an employment contract 4. Compensation for training 5. Conclusion 2.1.2. Conference report (Nicosia, 29-30 January 2004) 2.2. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania 2.2.1. Estonia: country report 1. Implementation of the Council Directive 1999/70/EC 2. Regulation of sport in Estonia 2.1. Contract between football players and clubs 2.2. Termination of a contract 3. Internal regulation of the transfer of the players in Estonian football 4. Regulation of compensation for training and education in Estonian football 5. Social Dialogue in professional football in Estonia 5.1. Social partners 5.2. Collective bargaining 5.3. Social dialogue 6. Conclusion 2.2.2. Latvia: country report 1. Implementation of the Council Directive 1999/70/EC 2. Regulation of sport in Latvia 2.1. Effect of the EC Directive 1999/70/EC on Latvian professional football 3. Termination of an employment contract 4. Position of a football player in Latvia 5. Transfer of football players 6. Social dialogue in professional football in Latvia 6.1. Social partners 7. Conclusion 2.2.3. Lithuania: country report 1. Implementation of the Council Directive 1999/70/EC 2. Regulation of sport in Lithuania 2.1. Law on Physical Culture and Sport 2.2. Position of football players in Lithuania 3. Effect of Council Directive 1999/70/EC on Lithuanian professional football 4. Internal regulation of redemption fees of fixed-term contracts/transfer fees 4.1. LFF Competition Regulations 2003 4.2. Law on Physical Culture and Sport 5. Social partners in Lithuanian professional football 5.1. Social dialogue in sports 6. Conclusion 2.2.4. Conference report (Vilnius, 5 February 2004) Legal Regulation of the Relationship between Football Clubs and Professional Players in Lithuania by Raimundas Jurevicius and Dovilé Vaigauskaité 1. Introduction 2. The current situation in five EU Member States 3. Harmonized rules at the European level - ECJ case-law 4. Other accession countries than Lithuania and the regulation of their national football sectors 5. The case of Lithuania - ambiguity concerning the status of footballers 6. The Law on Physical Culture and Sport 7. Romanas Safronovas v. Vilnius BC “Statyba” 8. Taxation of athletes’ income 9. A new Law on Physical Culture and Sport 4 2.3. Hungary and Slovenia 2.3.1. Hungary: country report 1. What is the legal basis for the relationship between a player and a club? 1.1. Amateur athletes 1.1.1. Amateur athlete sports contracts 1.1.2. Legal status of amateur athletes 1.1.3. Transfer of the amateur athlete 1.2. Provisions concerning professional athletes 1.3. Employment relationship according to chapter V, part 3 of the Act XXII of 1992 on the Labour Code 1.4. Agency contracts 1.5. Transfer of rights of managing the right to play 2. What has the candidate state already done to implement the Directive 1999/70/EC? 3. Possibility for the social dialogue between social partners in Hungary 3.1. Legal Framework 3.1.1. Trade unions 3.1.2. Collective bargaining agreement 3.2. Social partners in the Hungarian professional football sector 4. Additional information 4.1. Resolving individual employment disputes 4.1.1. Other legal mechanisms encouraging the two parties to resolve a dispute by prior negotiation 4.2. Sport regulatory framework 4.3. Governmental jurisdiction over sport 4.4. Consolidation of the national sports movement 4.5. Finance 2.3.2. Slovenia: country report 1. What is the legal basis for the relationship between a player and a club? 1.1. Labour law 1.2. Association law 1.3. Internal regulation with regard to redemption fees of contracts for specific periods of time / transfer fees 1.4. Training compensation for young players 2. What did the candidate state already do to implement the Directive 1999/70/EC? 3. The possibility of entering into social dialogue in Slovenia; the exsistance of a separate entity, independent from the national footbal federation to enter into collective barganing agreement. 3.1. Social partners in professional football in Slovenia 3.2 recent trouble in entering into a social dialogue 4. Additional specifics of Slovenian professional sport 4.1. Reasoning behind the status of professional athlete under Slovenian income tax legislation 4.2. National sports regulatory framework 4.3. Government jurisdiction over sport 4.4. Consolidation of the national sports movement 4.5 Financing 2.3.3. Conference report (Ljubljana 25 March 2004) 2.4. Poland 2.4.1. Country report 1. What is the legal basis for the relationship between a player and a club? 1.1. Internal regulation with regard to redemption fees of contracts for specific periods of time / transfer fees? 2. What did the candidate state already do to implement Directive 1999/70/EC? 3. Social partners in professional football in poland, the possibility of entering into social dialogue in Poland? 4. Individual labour/employment law disputes in Poland 2.4.2. Conference report (Warsaw, 2 April 2004) 2.5. Czech Republic and Slovakia 2.5.1. Czech Republic: country report 1. What is the legal basis for the relationship between a player and a club? 1.1. Association Law 1.2. The League Assembly 1.3. Sport law in Czech Republic 1.4. Employment Law 1.5. Labour Code and Regulation for registration of contracts of professional players 5 2. Internal regulation with regard to redemption fees of contracts for specific periods of time / transfer fees 2.1. Training and educational compensation 3. The possibility of entering into social dialogue in the Czech Republic? The existence of a separate entity, independent from a national football federation to enter into collective bargaining agreement 4. Directive 1999/70/EC and the national law 2.5.2. Slovakia: country report 1. What is the legal basis for the relationship between a player and a club? 1.1. Labour Code 1.2. Labour Code and the Council Directive 1999/70/EC 1.3. Civil Code and Regulation for registration of contracts of professional players 1.4. Labour Code and Regulation for registration of contracts of professional players 2. Internal regulation on redemption fees of contracts for specific periods of time/transfer fees 3. Training and educational compensation 4. Arbitration committee of the Slovak football association 5. The possibility of the entering into a social dialogue in Slovakia? The existence of a separate entity, independent from the national footbal federation to enter into collective barganing agreement ? 5.1. League committee of Slovak Football Association 5.2. Social partners in professional footbal in Slovakia 2.5.3. Conference report (Prague, 22 April 2004) 2.6. Bulgaria and Romania 2.6.1. Bulgaria: country report 1. Structure of Bulgarian football 2. Status of the football player 3. Compensation for training and education: 4. Regulation of employment relationship in Bulgaria 5. Social Dialogue in Bulgaria 6. Conclusions 2.6.2. Romania: country report 1. What is the legal base for the contract concluded between a player and a club (what is the nature of the relationship between the player and a club)? 1.1. Legal Framework: the Labour Code 1.2. Legal Base for the contract concluded between a player and a club 2. What has the candidate state already done to implement the Directive 1999/70/EC? 3. Social partners in Romanian professional football sector and collective bargaining agreement 3.1. Legal Framework 3.1.1. Trade Unions Law 3.1.2. Law concerning Collective Agreements 3.2. Potential social partners in Romanian professional football sector 4. Current situation and problems within Romanian football sector 5. Individual labour disputes and the courts in Romania 2.6.3. Conference report (Bucharest, 21 June 2004) 3. Conclusions and recommendations 1. Introductory remarks 6 1.1. The project’s purpose The project is intended to inform about and thereby promote the concept of the Social Dialogue and of collective bargaining at the sectoral level of the professional football industry in the EU candidate countries (now Member states plus Bulgaria and Romania). The aim is to contribute to facilitating the start of consultations of management and labour at national and Community level and, in pursuance thereof, the establishment of relevant contractual relations by the exchange of information and experience on a European basis, in particular regarding employment contracts and collective bargaining agreements. In addition, the current EU legal developments concerning labour and sports will be presented, followed by a comparison with the relevant law in the candidate countries. Differences between the EU and national law will be indicated and solutions for avoiding conflicts will be provided. Besides promoting the Social Dialogue in the professional football sector in the candidate countries the objective of the project is also to identify the national law that is not in conformity with EU law and to propose solutions to remove any conflict. It is expect ed that the project will be helpful to pave the way for starting the Social Dialogue in professional football in the EU candidate countries at national and European level by creating awareness amongst organizations involved of the possibilities the Dialogue offers for establishing effective industrial relations and, in particular, by creating common ground amongst management and labour for the purpose of future negotiations.