The

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

plays a minor and mostly indirect policy role in sport, because (a) sport is normally considered to be outside the competences conferred by the member states to the European Union and (b) sport is in general organised internally, on a European continental level (which is not the same as the level of the European Union), or globally.

Role of the EU

Direct

The European Union has a very limited direct role in sport. The

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

is composed of Directorates-General and several departments. Within the

Directorate-General Within the European Union, Directorates-General are departments with specific zones of responsibility, the equivalent of ministries at a national level. Most are headed by a European Commissioner, responsible for the general direction of the Dir ...

Education and Culture, is the Sport Unit, which is responsible for the following main areas: * cooperation within the commission and with other institutions on sport-related issues, * cooperation with national and international sports institutions, organisations and federations, * bilateral meetings with sports institutions and organisations and international sports federations

One of the few specific measures in sport was taken by Decision No. 291/2003/EC of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

and of the

Council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

of 6 February 2003 that established the European Year of Education through Sport 2004. The activities and initiatives undertaken during 2004 were organised at Community, transnational, national, regional and local level, and was sometimes co-financed by the Community. Activities compromised for instance financial support for transnational, national, regional or local initiatives to promote education through sport

Under the

Lisbon Treaty The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is an international agreement that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by the EU member sta ...

, the EU role in sports is limited, because Article 165(4) states that the EU objectives in sports are restricted to measures "excluding any harmonisation of the laws and regulations of the Member States". As such, the EU can not adopt legislation or any other legally binding measures, instead it acts through guidelines, recommendations, and funding, in order to support its sport-related objectives.

Indirect

Although not directed specifically at sport, many of the rules, policies and programmes of the European Union affect the sports world or are of interest to it. In particular, the

common market The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

of the European Union creates the right for any EU citizen to move and work freely in another member state. The landmark

Bosman ruling ''Union Royale Belge des Sociétés de Football Association ASBL v Jean-Marc Bosman'' (1995) C-415/93 (known as the Bosman ruling) is a 1995 European Court of Justice decision concerning freedom of movement for workers, freedom of association ...

confirmed that this right, when applied to professional athletes, forbids nationality quotas in sports leagues that affect EU citizens. This has changed the face of professional sports in the EU, with top teams now collecting talent from all over Europe, and sometimes even fielding teams with no domestic players at all.

References

External links

EU sport policy
euractiv.com
Sport&EU
(the association for the study of sport and the European Union)
European Capitals of Sport
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sport Policies of the European Union Cultural policies of the European Union Politics and sports Sport in Europe Sports law pt:União Europeia#Cultura e desporto

Role of the EU

Direct

Indirect

See also

References

External links