Brussels, 26th June 2014 – Italy is taking over the EU presidency from Greece next Tuesday 1st July, and by then the new “Trio” – the Italian, and future Latvian and Luxembourg Presidencies – will be officially in place.
The 18 month programme of the EU Council, prepared by the Trio and the High Representative, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Council is now settled.
The three Presidencies will make every effort to ensure a smooth and efficient functioning of the work of the Council. This implies a very close cooperation between the three Presidencies and between them and the President of the European Council and the High Representative. They will work very closely and constructively together with the European Parliament and in cooperation with the Commission.
The perspective of more long-term objectives running into the subsequent three Presidencies has also been taken into account. For this reason, in accordance with the Council’s Rules of Procedure, the future Netherlands, Slovakian and Maltese Presidencies have been consulted.
The main objective for the next 18 months is to definitively overcome the economic and financial crisis by boosting the Union’s growth, strengthening the Union’s capacity to deliver more jobs and seizing digital opportunities, whilst safeguarding fundamental rights and ensuring the EU fully play its role in a fast changing world.
The programme document consists of some one hundred pages, and includes a part on sport. In general the topics listed are all positive in the sense that they focus both on the important societal role of sport and on the risks for sport that need to be tackled.
Apart from sport-related activities, several other topics will be considered, such as: Visas (athletes from non EU countries) , fundamental rights and citizenship (data protection related to the fight against doping and match fixing), gender equality (including in sport), public health (acknowledgement of sport as the main driver for physical activity and the incorporation of sport in the health programme),foodstuffs (food supplements),single market (qualifications in sport), intellectual property (sport owner rights in sport), telecommunications and the digital single market (e.g. conditions for streaming of sport events), education and training (incorporation of sports diploma in the national and European qualification frameworks),youth (sport as a driver for the development of skills and for social inclusion), and audiovisual (broadcasting of sport events, future of territorially restricted licensing).
The EOC EU Office in Brussels (www.euoffice.eurolympic.org) will monitor the different policy fields that could have an impact on sport in Europe.