As the Union fights to bring down unemployment, the sports sector is one area where new jobs could be created and where the EU can use its support for infrastructure investments, new technology and education and exchange programmes to good effect. Job opportunities now exist for experts in new sports, in the growth in sport-related clinics, sanitoria and new spa businesses and in the growing interest shown by people seeking to stay healthy as they grow older. The sporting goods sector, whether it be clothing, equipment or toys, is a good example of the close relationship which now exists between the industry and the Union. Their activities will also be affected by the volume of sporting goods the Union allows to be imported from various developing countries and by legislation on aspects of design and manufacturing norms, misleading advertising and user instructions. The Commission's main interest in sport is in constructing an active and permanent dialogue with all those involved on issues of common interest.
Information flows in both directions.
The Union needs to be aware of the concerns and opinions of the sports world when preparing new EU rules, while sports authorities must be well-informed on Union developments which will affect their activities. Since 1991, a key meeting place for this dialogue has been the annual European Sports Forum ensuring better coordination between the world of sport and the Commission. It brings together people involved in sport from national ministries and non-governmental organisations as well as officials from international and European federations. These multilateral contacts are reinforced with bilateral meetings between the Commission and European and national sports organisations. The practice has grown by holding biannual meetings of European sports directors to consider how to improve cooperation even further.