House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee European Commission White Paper on Sport Seventh Report of Session 2007–08 Report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence Ordered by The House of Commons to be printed 8 May 2008 HC 347 Published on 14 May 2008 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited £0.00 The Culture, Media and Sport Committee The Culture, Media and Sport Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and its associated public bodies. Current membership Mr John Whittingdale MP (Conservative, Maldon and East Chelmsford) [Chairman] Janet Anderson MP (Labour, Rossendale and Darwen) Mr Philip Davies MP (Conservative, Shipley) Mr Nigel Evans MP (Conservative, Ribble Valley) Paul Farrelly MP (Labour, Newcastle-under-Lyme) Mr Mike Hall MP (Labour, Weaver Vale) Alan Keen MP (Labour, Feltham and Heston) Rosemary McKenna MP (Labour, Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East) Adam Price MP (Plaid Cymru, Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) Mr Adrian Sanders MP (Liberal Democrat, Torbay) Helen Southworth MP (Labour, Warrington South) Powers The Committee is one of the departmental select committees, the powers of which are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in SO No 152. These are available on the Internet via www.parliament.uk. Publications The Reports and evidence of the Committee are published by The Stationery Office by Order of the House. All publications of the Committee (including press notices) are on the Internet at http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/culture__media_and_sport. cfm Committee staff The current staff of the Committee are Kenneth Fox (Clerk), Martin Gaunt (Second Clerk), Anna Watkins/Lisa Wrobel (Committee Assistants), Rowena Macdonald (Secretary), Jim Hudson (Senior Office Clerk) and Laura Humble (Media Officer). Contacts All correspondence should be addressed to the Clerk of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, House of Commons, 7 Millbank, London SW1P 3JA. The telephone number for general enquiries is 020 7219 6188; fax 020 7219 2031; the Committee’s email address is [email protected] 1 Contents Report Page 1 Introduction 3 2 Sport and the Treaties 3 3 The content of the White Paper 4 Sport and EU law 8 4 Conclusion 16 Conclusions and recommendations 18 Formal Minutes 24 Witnesses 25 List of written evidence 26 List of unprinted evidence 27 List of Reports from the Committee during the current Parliament 28 3 1 Introduction 1. On 11 July 2007, the European Commission published a White Paper on Sport, describing it as “the first time that the Commission is addressing sport-related issues in a comprehensive manner”.1 2. Since publication, the Commission has organised a conference on the White Paper, held on 8 and 9 October 2007, attended by representatives of European sporting federations, umbrella organisations for sport (both European and national), representatives of EU institutions and others.2 The White Paper was also discussed at the Informal Council of Sport Ministers held in Lisbon on 25 October. Meanwhile, the White Paper has been considered by the European Parliament’s Culture and Education Committee, which agreed the text of a Report on 1 April 2008 for submission to the plenary in the form of a Motion for a Resolution. 3. The White Paper is a European Union document within the meaning set out in Standing Order No. 143 of this House, and it was accordingly considered by the House’s European Scrutiny Committee in October 2007.3 The European Scrutiny Committee concluded that it would keep the document under scrutiny pending consideration of a progress report by the Government; and it referred the White Paper to this Committee for an Opinion, using its powers under Standing Order No. 143(11). This Report provides the Opinion sought. It is also designed to inform the House as a whole; and we intend that it should provide a guide to the Government as it forms its stance on the White Paper. Our findings are based on oral evidence from representatives of sport at professional and community levels, written submissions, a discussion with Mr Jan Figel’, the European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth, and a meeting with members of the European Parliament, mostly drawn from the Culture and Education Committee.4 2 Sport and the Treaties 4. At the time when the White Paper was prepared, the European Union had no competence for sport under the European Treaties. Indeed, the EU has until now engaged with sport principally through Declarations adopted when signing the Treaties of Amsterdam in 1997 and of Nice in 2000. The Treaty signed in Lisbon on 13 December 2007, however, includes a provision stating that “The Union shall contribute to the promotion of European sporting issues, while taking account of the specific nature of sport, its structures based on voluntary activity and its social and educational function” and that the action shall be aimed at 1 Introduction to the White Paper 2 A report of the conference is available as a link from http://ec.europa.eu/sport 3 34th Report from the European Scrutiny Committee, Session 2006-07, HC 41-xxxiv, Chapter 3 4 Pàl Schmitt MEP, Deputy Chair of the CULT Committee, Mary Honeyball MEP, Ivo Belet MEP and Neena Gill MEP (member of the EP Committee on Legal Affairs). 4 “developing the European dimension in sport, by promoting fairness and openness in sporting competitions and co-operation between bodies responsible for sports, and by protecting the physical and moral integrity of sportsmen and sportswomen, especially the youngest sportsmen and sportswomen”.5 The effect of this Article is to introduce a “soft competence” for sport, enabling the EU institutions to support Member State activity by adopting “incentive measures” and “recommendations” but not to regulate or harmonise it. The Treaty has, in some ways, overtaken the White Paper. Indeed, at the conference on the White Paper organised by the Commission in October 2007, the Commission said that the White Paper and the “structured dialogue” should now be viewed largely as the preparatory work and structure for the entry into force of the Treaty Article on sport.6 5. The Football Association (FA) told us that it was encouraged by the new EU competence for sport, particularly as it left policy control to Member States;7 and the Central Council for Physical Recreation (CCPR), a representative body for sport and recreation in the UK, with a membership of over 260 sporting bodies, believed that it would “open up opportunities for sport”.8 The football Premier League agreed that its findings and recommendations would “provide a good framework for the development of the new EU competence for sport envisaged in the forthcoming Treaty”;9 but it urged us to keep under review the development of EU sport policy in the wake of the Treaty, particularly to examine the extent to which the White Paper’s core principles are upheld.10 3 The content of the White Paper 6. The White Paper consists of three policy discussions, on the social value of sport, the economic value of sport, and the organisation of sport. Various action points emerge from the discussions: together, these form the Action Plan Pierre de Coubertin, named after the founder of the modern Olympic movement. The Action Plan is attached to this Report as an Appendix. The White Paper is supported by a 40-page Impact Assessment and also by a Working Document which provides background information. 7. As a survey of sport, the contribution it can make to society, the support it may need, and its position within EU law, the White Paper and its associated documents are wide- ranging and an asset to policy-making. As the Government’s Explanatory Memorandum says, “the White Paper provides a valuable platform for exploring some of the key issues facing sport at the European level”.11 The Central Council for Physical Recreation praised the White Paper for its contribution to debate on sport and told us that it contained “many positive actions” which should be carried forward by EU institutions, Member States and 5 Article 2(124), LisbonTreaty 6 See Ev 19 7 Ev 13 8 Q 61 9 Ev 18 10 Ev 19 11 Explanatory Memorandum paragraph 19.1 5 sporting bodies.12 The objectives underlying the White Paper generally found favour with witnesses:13 the football Premier League said that it “broadly supported the scope, analysis and conclusions of the White Paper” and viewed its focus on the role of sport in society and the economic importance of sport in Europe as “correct”.14 8. It is important to distinguish between the White Paper and the Action Plan which it encompasses. Whereas the White Paper raises some controversial issues, chiefly in relation to the position of sport within EU law—we discuss some of these in paragraphs 20 to 42— the majority of action points in the Action Plan are not proposals for changes in policy but suggestions for establishing or maintaining dialogues and international networks, or carrying out evaluations and studies, or making better use of existing funding and development programmes, or merely taking sport into account in debates in related subject areas. Many of these suggestions provoked no serious criticism in evidence, and there appears to be little controversy about their potential benefits. We discuss some examples briefly below. Using EU funding programmes 9. The lack of any competence for sport under existing EU Treaties prevents the establishment of any funding programme directed specifically at sport. However, there are a number of EU programmes which could, potentially, be of benefit. Some of these are identified by the Action Plan: • The Public Health Programme 2007–13, under which the benefits of physical activity can be promoted and supported; • Youth in Action and Europe for Citizens programmes, designed to foster co- operation between sporting organisations, schools and civil society; • The Leonardo da Vinci programme, supporting vocational education and training; • The Erasmus programme, which enables mobility between higher education institutions.