WRITTEN QUESTION E-1009/96 by Francisco Lucas Pires (PPE) to the Commission (26 April 1996)

Subject: Action in response to the Bosman judgment

Following the judgment of the Court of Justice in the Bosman case, will the Commission launch any initiative with regard to the legal rules governing the area affected by the above judgment or come to an agreement with the bodies representing football, in particular to promote clubs' investment in vocational training for players?

Answer given by Mr Van Miert on behalf of the Commission (28 May 1996)

Following the judgment delivered by the Court of Justice on 15 December 1995 in the Bosman case, the Commission has on a number of occasions shown its firm intention to use the resources at its disposal to ensure that the principles highlighted in the judgment are put into effect. Thus, in January 1996, an official warning was sent to the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and to the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) on infringement proceedings under Article 85(1) of the EC Treaty and Article 53(1) of the EEA Agreement regarding the rules applied by the two organizations and held by the Court to be in breach of Article 48 of the EC Treaty.

FIFA and UEFA confirmed, in reply to the warning letter, that, so as to comply with the Bosman judgment, the international transfer system would no longer be applied to players who, at the end of their contracts, switched from a club in one country to another club in a different country within the EEA. As regards the restrictions on the number of non-national players, UEFA also confirmed that its executive committee had decided on 19 February 1996 to formally abolish with immediate effect the nationality clauses applicable to UEFA inter-club competitions. FIFA and UEFA also announced that they were setting up working parties to examine alternatives to the international transfer system. Since the replies given by UEFA and FIFA are generally positive, there is no longer any question of the Commission initiating proceedings to withdraw the immunity from fines which FIFA and UEFA enjoy by virtue of their notification of the transfer rules to the Commission in July 1995.

Since the Bosman judgment, the Commission has made it clear to all the sporting organizations involved, including those representing players, that it is available to discuss and help find alternatives to the international transfer system. Any such alternative system will have to comply with the principle of proportionality: it will therefore have to represent an essential means of achieving the objectives of maintaining a balance between clubs, i.e. preserving some equality of opportunity and uncertainty as to results, and of encouraging the recruitment and training of young players (point 106 in the judgment). One viable alternative, put forward by the Advocate General in his conclusions, would be to set up an inter-club solidarity system based on the distribution of a proportion of receipts.

The Commission hopes that, working closely with these organizations, UEFA and FIFA will notify to it an alternative system which is compatible with the other rules laid down in the Treaty, and in particular Article 48, and can be exempted under Article 85(3).