WRITTEN QUESTION E-3899/02

by Sérgio Marques (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(14 January 2003)

Subject: 2004 European Year of Education through Sport

It is widely recognised that sport is an important social phenomenon in Europe and is a good educational tool. In particular it helps to develop the social skills of young people, including team spirit, solidarity and loyalty in short it increases collective discipline and promotes a group approach to life.

In this context the aim of the European Year of Education through Sport in 2004 is to help to enhance the image of sport in European society by counteracting the risks of a sedentary lifestyle and social isolation linked to the increasing use of new technologies.

The initiative will make it possible to exploit more fully the values inherent in sport for improving education programmes, in particular extra-curricular education, by means of a close partnership between educational and sports organisations.

The proposed budget is EUR 11,5 million (EUR 8 million for 2004 and EUR 3,5 million for 2003) which is supposed to fund the following activities: the organisation of meetings, events and voluntary actions; information and promotional campaigns; cooperation with the media; research and studies; the granting of financial support to trans-national, national, regional and local initiatives, with the aim of promoting the aims of the European Year of Education through Sport.

Measures on a Community scale may be subsidised up to a maximum of 80 %, whilst local, regional, national or trans-national measures may be co-funded by the general budget of the European Communities up to a maximum of 50 % of the total cost.

1. Since each Member State has to appoint the bodies responsible for taking part in the European Year, to which the candidates must send their projects, and since these in turn have to submit applications to the Commission for the cofinancing of local, regional, national or trans-national measures, what is the deadline for appointing these bodies and announcing who they are?

2. What are the deadlines set for the publication of notices inviting applications and the relevant procedure and what means of dissemination will be used?

3. Since the decisions concerning financing and cofinancing are to be adopted by the Commission after consulting a group of experts, what is the composition of this group and how long will the whole selection process take?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(18 February 2003)

The Honourable Member refers to the arrangements for implementing the European Parliament and Council Decision establishing the European Year of Education through Sport 2004. This Decision was adopted on 19 December 2002(1).

Article 4 of the Decision provides that each Member State should designate one or more appropriate bodies with responsibility for participating in the European Year and coordinating measures at national level, using the selection procedure described in Article 7.

The Commission has put this matter on the agenda of the first meeting of the advisory committee which is due to take place on 7 March 2003. The national bodies should be designated during the first half of 2003 in accordance with arrangements which still have to be set out in detail and will be referred to the advisory committee.

The Commission has already published a contract notice(2) concerning an information and promotional campaign for the European Year of Education through Sport 2004. Another call for tenders relating to the selection of projects is planned before summer 2003.

Article 6 of the Commission's initial proposal(3) provides for a group of experts to be called in. However, the obligation to obtain the opinion of this group of experts was dispensed with during the legislative procedure. Nevertheless, in line with the debates in Parliament, the Commission intends to set up a group of experts in order to enable all partners from education and sport to express their views. The arrangements for setting up this group of experts will be drawn up in the next few months after receiving the opinion of the advisory committee.

The Commission would also point out that under Article 7 of Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission(4), the European Parliament must be kept regularly informed by the Commission about committee proceedings. To this end, it receives agendas for committee meetings, draft measures submitted to the

committees for the implementation of instruments adopted by the procedure provided for by Article 251 of the EC Treaty, and the results of voting and summary records of the meetings and lists of the authorities and organisations to which the persons designated by the Member States to represent them belong. The European Parliament is also kept informed whenever the Commission transmits to the Council measures or proposals for measures to be taken

(1) Due to be published in the Official Journal.

(2) OJ 2002/S 242-192453, 13.12.2002.

(3) Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the European Year of Education through Sport 2004 OJ C 25 E, 29.1.2002.

(4) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999.