The European Non-Governmental Sports Organisation (ENGSO) is currently awaiting responses to a questionnaire sent to political groups regarding their views on EU sports policies and their planned programmes in this regard for the House's next term, from 2009-2014.
Groups are expected to unveil their views on the autonomy and specific nature of sport, ethics, financing, volunteering, education and health.
ENGSO's questionnaire results will be scrutinised and an inventory of responses will be communicated to its member organisations ahead of the June elections. A panel discussion of the initiative and the results will take place during the ENGSO General Assembly on 24 April. Political group representatives are also invited to attend this EU seminar.
Related to the questionnaire, an ENGSO manifesto, entitled 'Sport for an Active and Competitive Europe', sets out a series of recommendations for European decision-makers to better take into account the challenges facing "the largest social activity in Europe".
"Despite the extent to which sport affects the lives of the European citizens, not enough is done to target and promote sport in Europe," reads the election manifesto, which calls on EU politicians, among other things, to:
- Respect the autonomy of sport organisations and the European sporting model as well as the specific nature of sport in EU law;
- Prevent the EU interfering with national funding schemes, such as state-run lotteries;
- Create additional tax incentives and cut red tape to promote volunteering in sport;
- Recognise the role sport and physical activity play in public health and education, and;
- Use the supporting competence in the Lisbon Treaty to 'mainstream' sport into all EU policies.
