Tag: sports

European Commission plans to introduce a professional card for ski teachers valid across all participating EU countries is creating jitters among a profession that was until now largely protected by national rules.

Policymakers and operators alike are broadly in favour of introducing EU-wide legislation to govern the online gambling market. But common rules should not prevent member states from regulating online gambling as tightly as they want, participants in a European Economic and Social Committee conference heard yesterday (6 September).

Annual funding for the EU's sports policy must increase dramatically if it is to be fully effective, an independent evaluation has concluded. But the European Commission will not decide how much money to allocate to its future sports programme until the autumn. 

Global sports events like the Winter Olympics can and must contribute to mitigating environmental damage, writes Dmitry Chernyshenko, president and CEO of the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee, pointing to vast differences in environmental consciousness in the EU and Russia which the organisers hope Sochi will help change. 

Sport should be granted specific funding from the EU budget as it helps to deliver major policy objectives in areas like health, education and employment, argued a report published by the UK's House of Lords yesterday (6 April), giving weight to the European Commission's bid to ensure that the EU's new sports programme is adequately funded.  

An EU-wide public consultation on the future of Europe's fast-growing online gambling industry must produce "harmonised rules" to govern the market, Sigrid Ligné, secretary-general of the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA), told EurActiv in an interview. 

An upcoming EU-wide public consultation on the future of Europe's rapidly-growing online gambling market must create a "competitive landscape" for betting firms, Khalid Ali of the European Sports Security Association (ESSA), told EurActiv in an interview.

Finnish policymakers were yesterday (22 February) in Brussels to outline how innovative projects in the south of the country can inspire similar action at EU level, revealing how prescribing exercise rather than drugs can improve public health. 

EU Sport Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou has described as "incredible" some of the recent multimillion euro transfer fees paid for professional football players. In an interview with EurActiv, she announced that the European Commission will look into the possibility of taking action, including capping fees.

Major sports events such as the football World Cup will be available to all television viewers in Britain and Belgium after global soccer governing body FIFA lost a legal challenge yesterday (17 February) against a European Commission decision to ensure free TV coverage of lucrative tournaments.

Broadcasters cannot prevent consumers in the UK from using cheaper foreign satellite TV equipment to watch Premier League football matches as this breaches EU law, an adviser to Europe's highest court said yesterday (3 February), paving the way for a potential revolution in the sale of media sports rights in Europe.

Leading sports organisations have backed plans by the European Commission to encourage collective selling of media rights in a bid to ensure that revenue is shared more evenly between sports clubs. But a British MEP expressed fear that the EU will interfere with TV rights for the English Premier League.  

Combating doping in amateur sport, promoting social inclusion, gender equality and improving the health of Europeans are among the key policy areas to be addressed by the EU's new sports policy. But preparations for the launch were marred by concerns about how much funding would be available for EU sports policies.

Sport, as a tool for education, development and peace, can promote cooperation, solidarity, tolerance, understanding, social inclusion and health at the local, national and international levels, according to leading European sports think-tank Sport and Citizenship.

The EU's sports policy has great potential to build a "common European identity," but is unfortunately under-funded and its success depends on political will, Laurent Thieule, president of a leading EU sports think-tank, told EurActiv in an interview.

FIFA awarded the 2018 World Cup finals to Russia yesterday (2 December), shattering the hopes of a bemused England and rejecting joint bids from Spain/Portugal and Belgium/The Netherlands.

Ministers gathered for the first ever EU Sports Council last week agreed to establish a regular dialogue between representatives of sports movements and EU policymakers. But observers warned that it was not yet clear who was representing the sports movement in Brussels. 

European Commission officials yesterday (18 November) expressed doubt as to whether they would have enough funding to launch the European Union’s new sports policy after talks on the EU budget for 2011 collapsed. 

Involvement in sports can drive citizens' involvement in the European Year of Volunteering in 2011, said policymakers at a conference on sport and European citizenship last week. 

The UK's House of Lords today (20 October) launched an inquiry into grassroots sport and the European Union, ahead of the publication next month of the bloc's first ever sports policy.  

With the European Commission readying its Green Paper on online gambling, the recent cricket betting saga highlighted the need for European regulation that will allow bookmakers to continue to innovate and maintain their integrity, writes Khalid Ali, secretary-general of the European Sports Security Association (ESSA), in an opinion piece sent exclusively to EurActiv.

South Africa must work hard to build on its successful hosting of the soccer World Cup if it is to secure long-term benefits from the event, the country's tourism minister said last week.

As the European Commission prepares to table its first ever EU sports programme in November, lawmakers are calling for initiatives to clearly prioritise funding for grassroots activities.

A group of MEPs has asked the European Commission to establish a database to collect information on drugs taken by football players during their careers and to assess the causes of football-related disease, such as the deadly Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).