EN Official Journal of the European Union C 322/1

COUNCIL RESOLUTION

of 18 November 2010

on the EU structured dialogue on sport

2010/C 322/01

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

1. RECALLING:

(i) Article 165 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which in particular requires the Union to ‘contribute to the promotion of European sporting issues, while taking account of the specific nature of sport, its structures based on voluntary activity and its social and educational function’ and to develop ‘the European dimension in sport’;

(ii) the European Council Declaration on Sport, Annex 5 to the Presidency Conclusions (Brussels, 12 December 2008), which calls for the strengthening of the constructive dialogue with the International Olympic Committee and representatives of the world of sport.

2. AWARE:

(i) that diverse dialogue mechanisms in the field of sport have been established for some time at national, regional and local level;

(ii) that successive EU Presidencies have organised a number of informal meetings of Sport Ministers and Sport Directors;

(iii) that EU-level dialogue has taken place with sport stakeholders at different levels, in particular within the EU Sport Forum;

(iv) of the European social dialogue in the sport sector, with a sectoral social dialogue committee on football being established in 2008.

3. CONSIDERS THAT:

(i) following the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, a new era in EU priorities in the field of sport has begun;

(ii) a strengthened EU dialogue with sport stakeholders would serve as an opportunity for a continuous and well-structured exchange of views on priorities, implementation and follow-up to EU cooperation in the field of sport;

(iii) it is necessary to further develop such a dialogue by consolidating existing structures and practices, in particular the annual EU Sport Forum;

(iv) in addition, there is a specific need to develop the high-level component of the already existing dialogue, linked to Council meetings.

4. CONSEQUENTLY AGREES THAT THE PRESIDENCY OF THE COUNCIL SHOULD:

(i) convene, on a regular basis, generally in the margin of the Council meeting, an informal meeting of leading representatives of the EU public authorities and the sports movement with the aim of exchanging views on sporting issues in the EU;

(ii) establish, following the necessary consultation, an agenda for each meeting which should focus particularly on the issues addressed or to be addressed in recent or forthcoming Council meetings;

(iii) invite a limited number of participants to the meeting, seeking to ensure balanced participation from the EU public authorities, on the one hand, and representatives of the sports movement on the other hand;

(iv) invite to this meeting representatives of the Council (the Team Presidency, a representative of the next Team Presidency, and assisted by the Council Secretariat), the European Commission, and the European Parliament;

(v) seek to achieve representative, broad and balanced participation from the sports movement at the meeting, with particular emphasis on bodies from within the EU and from Europe.

The Presidency should take fully into account, when deciding on the list of invitees from the sports movement, the agenda of the Council meeting, the Team Presidency’s priorities and any urgent or topical issues, including those raised in the context of the annual EU Sport Forum. In addition, continuity of representation should be considered when appropriate.

In this regard, the Presidency should also be steered by the following guidelines:

— the diversity of the world of sport should be reflected by considering particularly the following aspects: Olympic sports and non-Olympic sports; professional sports and amateur sports; competitive sports and recreational sports as well as grassroots sports and sport for people with disabilities,

— the interests of the different actors within the sport sector, including those with a European dimension, e.g. umbrella organisations, European and national federations, clubs and sportsmen and sportswomen, should be taken into account,

— the specific nature of the sport sector should be taken into consideration,