Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the "Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the European Year of Education through Sport 2004" (COM(2001) 584 final)
Date: 2002-04-24
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: EU action, European symbol, physical education, promotion of the European idea, social integration, social role, sport

21.6.2002

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 149/17

Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Decision of the European
Parliament and of the Council establishing the European Year of Education through Sport 2004’

(COM(2001) 584 final)

(2002/C 149/06)

On 23 November 2001 the Commission decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under
Article 149 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned proposal.

The Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship, which was responsible for preparing the
Committee’s work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 10 April 2002. The rapporteur was Mr Koryfidis.

At its 390th plenary session on 24 and 25 April 2002 (meeting of 24 April), the Economic and Social
Committee adopted the following opinion by 98 votes, with none against and one abstention.

1.

Introduction

and its social function can be safeguarded. The increase in the
number of court proceedings is the sign of growing tension’ (4).

11.
‘Sport is a human activity resting on fundamental
social, educational and cultural values. It is a factor making for
integration, involvement in social life, tolerance, acceptance of
differences and playing by the rules. Sporting activity should
be accessible to every man and woman, with due regard for
individual aspirations and abilities,
throughout the whole
gamut of organised or individual competitive or recreational
sports’ (1).

1.2.
‘Sporting organisations and the Member States have a
primary responsibility in the conduct of sporting affairs. Even
though not having any direct powers in this area,
the
Community must,
in its action under the various Treaty
provisions, take account of the social, educational and cultural
functions inherent in sport and making it special, in order that
the code of ethics and the solidarity essential to the preser-
vation of its social role may be respected and nurtured’ (2).

1.3.
‘... in addition to its economic significance, professional
and amateur sport has an important educational and social
function, fostering a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair
play, and helping to overcome xenophobia and racism’ (3).

1.5.
There will be keen public interest in sports-related
matters in 2004. The European Football Championship and,
in particular, the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Athens
will place top-level sport in the limelight.

The Community has always been attached to the educational
values of sport and will thus have an exceptional opportunity
to raise the awareness of the governments of the Member
States, the education organisations and the sports organisations
of the importance of building up an extensive partnership in
order to make better use of sporting activities in education.

At a time when professional sport
is being excessively
commercialised and its image amongst the public tarnished, it
is important to restore the true Olympic ideals so that they
can help to bring personal fulfilment. The European year will
thus contribute to rebuilding the image of sport in European
society and to countering the risks of a sedentary way of life
and social isolation stemming from the increasing use of new
technologies (5).

‘The economic developments observed in the area of
1.4.
sport and the responses of the various State authorities and
sporting organisations to the problems that they raise do not
go far enough to guarantee that the current structures of sport

1.6.
‘The Olympic spirit is an unwritten law. A spirit cannot
be codified or written down, and it eludes description. It must
be experienced.’ Ultimately it is an approach to and ‘model of
living that links culture, sport, education and leisure in an
unbreakable whole, in precisely the same way as the education
of the ancient Greeks’ (6).

(1) Points 3 and 4 of Annex IV of the Conclusions of the European

Council in Nice (7, 8 and 9 December 2000).

(2) Point 1 of the above Annex.
(3) European Parliament resolution A5-0203/2000.

(4) COM(1999) 644 final (point 4.1, first paragraph)
(5) Conclusions of the Explanatory Statement of COM(2001) 584.
(6) http://www.sport. gov.gr (ˇºı(cid:236)(cid:240)ØÆŒ(cid:239)· (cid:214)(cid:229)(cid:243)(cid:244)Ø(cid:226)Æ·º ˝(cid:229)·ø(cid:237))

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1.7.
‘The most important thing in the Olympic Games is
not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing
in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing
is not to have conquered but to have fought well’ (1).

2.3.
In view of the above, the objectives of the European
Year of Education through Sport are specific and clear, and
can be summarised as follows:

1.8.
‘We urge Member States to observe the Olympic Truce,
individually and collectively, now and in the future, and to
support the International Olympic Committee in its efforts to
promote peace and human understanding through sport and
the Olympic Ideal’ (2).

1.9.
‘The generation born between 1985 and 1995 very
largely withdraws from the practice of sport requiring permits
and self-organised sport. It refocuses on video games and
sports simulators which fuel their emotions without risk and
without constraint. In 2003, the virtual sport participation
rate among 10-25 year-olds already reaches 40 %’ (3).

1.10.
This patchwork of comments and statements from
different sources to a certain extent determines the prevailing
atmosphere in relation to sport, as well as the Commission’s
frame of reference for its proposal to establish a European
Year of Education through Sport 2004.

2. The Commission proposal

In practical

terms, with its proposal

to establish
2.1.
the European Year of Education through Sport 2004, the
Commission is taking an important step to close the gulf that
exists between EU social and economic policies and the
everyday life of ordinary people.

First and foremost, the Commission proposal addresses

2.2.
sporting organisations and education.

2.2.1.
However, the proposal concerns everybody. It con-
cerns those active in the world of sport as sportsmen and
sportswomen, supporters or interest groups. It also concerns
those who have, or tend to have, a purely economic interest in
sport. And finally, it concerns all those who have a negative
view of what is currently happening in sport, in particular of
the immoderate and inappropriate activities — for commercial
or other ends — that have been gaining ever more ground
recently.

(1) Olympic Creed.
(2) United Nations Millennium Declaration (point 10), New York,

Millennium Summit held on 6-8 September 2000.

(3) The possibility of sport developing in this way cannot be ruled
out (Sport and Employment in Europe: Final Report, PR-div/99-
09/C6, IV-2-1, penultimate paragraph).

— to make European society more aware of the traditional
values, the modern role and the particular educational
importance of sport;

— to encourage the world of education and sport to establish
and develop a close partnership and joint objectives;

— to promote and exploit the educational potential of sports
organisations, especially in terms of voluntary activities,
mobility and exchanges, and promoting a smooth intro-
duction to and integration into a multicultural environ-
ment without social — or any other form of — discrimi-
nation;

— to sensitise the educational community to the current
need to address the problems of a sedentary lifestyle by
promoting sports at school;

— finally, to address and draw attention to the educational
problems that arise with young sportsmen or sports-
women as a result of the increasingly young age at which
they start their sporting career.

2.4.
According to the Commission proposal, the European
Year of Education through Sport is the appropriate Community
initiative for achieving the above-mentioned goals. This is
especially true, of course, because it coincides with major
sporting events — of particular importance in communication
terms — such as the Olympic and Paralympic Games in
Athens and the Euro 2004 football championships in Portugal.

According to the Commission, the Olympic and
2.4.1.
Paralympic Games in Athens especially will highlight the
values and ideals of the Olympics, providing an opportunity
for a new general understanding of sports, as well as education,
by the whole of European society.

2.5.
The legal basis for the proposal is identified as Treaty
Article 149, while the funding required to implement it is
calculated at EUR 11,5 million.

3. General comments

The EESC endorses the Commission proposal

3.1.
to
declare 2004 the European Year of Education through Sport.
It agrees with the Commission’s objectives, as well as the
urgent need for a comprehensive, well-founded and integrated
Community approach to the issue before it is too late. The aim
of this initiative is to redefine the environment in which the
sporting movement operates and ensure that it is compatible
with traditional sporting values and with modern educational
and economic needs.

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3.1.1.
tions in this opinion are intended to:

In the light of the above, the comments and sugges-

— clarify certain points of the proposal;

— put forward ideas, approaches and means for supplemen-
tary or even alternative forms of Community action in
order to achieve the objectives;

— contribute in practical ways to making the European Year
of Education through Sport as successful as possible.

3.2. The significance of sport

3.2.1.
Specifically, we are talking about:

It is awesome to consider the significance of sport.

— an enduring concept

that spans virtually the whole
cultural spectrum of human history; a human (individual
and group) activity that is singular in terms of its historical
continuity;

— a social phenomenon that has played a catalytic role in

creating a global culture;

— a process that for long periods was the main means of
socialising young people and integrating them into the
value systems of a particular period and geographical
region of the world;

— an important measure of individual development and
fulfilment, but also of cultivation of social cohesion;

— a clearly enormous economic significance that cannot be
estimated when thought of in terms of the time and effort
people have invested, as either participants, supporters or
commentators.

3.2.2.
The EESC considers sport to be a very serious issue
for the future of European society, the European way of life
and European culture. It is therefore definitely against any
policy that would be incompatible with the values that created
sport and made it a major social phenomenon.

3.3. The context

3.3.1.1.
The main sphere in which these sporting principles
were initially cultivated was always schools and education.
Education and sport always existed side by side in a reciprocal
relationship.

3.3.1.2.
The environment in which sport is practised is
today in danger of being completely overturned. The manifest
reason for this metamorphosis is the over-commercialisation
of sport.

3.3.1.2.1.
It is worth noting that sport is now emerging as
a fast-growing and profitable sphere of economic activity (1),
which has implications in terms of maintaining its traditional
character.

3.3.1.2.2.
Thus a central issue is how to avert this trans-
formation, so that sport can continue to fulfil its key functions,
i.e. in relation to public health, as well as its educational, social,
cultural and recreational role.

3.3.2.
The EESC is against any idea of accepting a European
model of sport that would operate exclusively — even at its
margins — on the basis of market principles and for the sole
purpose of economic gain. It observes that sport as a social
phenomenon is an entity in itself and should be treated as
such politically.

The organisational structure (2) of sport, which has
3.3.2.1.
been based on freedom of association and voluntary services,
provides the basis for further development of a healthy,
mutually beneficial, relationship with education, a relationship
that must be enhanced, especially by local authorities. This
also requires:

— common objectives (promoting the traditional values of
sport, improving people’s physical and mental condition,
socialisation, etc.);

— attributing roles and work to each side (schools comp-
lementing physical activity and sports organisations
complementing education: parallel education);

The environment in which sport takes place has
3.3.1.
hardly changed, if at all, for centuries. This environment was
basically determined by individual and social needs (health,
education, collective activities, discipline, military require-
ments, etc.), which can be considered survival needs. On this
basis, the sporting philosophy which developed was thus
strong and clearly unchallenged.

(1) Turnover from sport is estimated at USD 107 billion (USD 15 bn.
in grants; USD 42 bn. in television rights; USD 50 bn. in tickets).
Europe accounts for 36 % of this figure and the US for 42 %. (See
Helsinki Report on Sport. Source: ‘Finding the right balance for
sport’, Stephen Townley, SPORTVISION, magazine of the GAIFS,
January 1998).

(2) It is estimated that the Union has over 600 000 sports associ-

ations.

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— transparency and democratic control, and of course

shared principles.

3.5.

Sphere of action and means

3.3.2.2.
In view of the above, the EESC considers that
commercialised sport is not consistent with the objectives of
the European Year of Education through Sport.

3.5.1.
As the basic instrument for achieving the objectives
in its proposal, the Commission favours establishing a partner-
ship between education and sports organisations. However,
measures also include action targeted at the whole of European
society.

3.4. Objectives

3.4.1.
The main objective of a single, comprehensive EU
policy for sport — in which education will obviously be called
upon to play a key role — must be to establish the prerequisites
for such a policy to be implemented.

3.4.1.1.
Basically, this means taking measures to remove
obstacles (institutional, legal, economic and social) hampering
the development of such a policy.

3.4.1.2.
social understanding and awareness of the issue.

Of great importance here are measures to promote

The EESC believes that the European Year of Edu-
3.4.2.
cation through Sport and its specific goals should help to
achieve this. It also believes that the significance and serious-
ness of the issue are such as to call for immediate definition of
the broader, medium-term and long-term, objectives of the
proposal in question.

In view of the above, the EESC perceives a need to
3.4.2.1.
frame a more concrete strategy without delay, a strategy that
will include the prospect of developing a broad, more or less
mass, sports movement that is highly aware and active.

3.4.2.1.1.
Developing such a movement will require politi-
cal support, especially to manage the relevant information and
draw attention to the negative implications for the European
way of life of unbridled commercialisation of sport and the
possible demise of the sporting philosophy. At the same time,
this movement must be integrated into a broader social
movement, which is already taking shape and addressing the
general problem of the future of the European way of life in
the 21st century and the new situation created by globalisation
and technological developments.

The EESC considers it essential to fully clarify which
3.5.2.
groups are concerned by the proposal. In its view, since sport
and education are individual and group activities, they concern
all Europeans — of every age, gender and occupation.

3.5.2.1.
Today especially — in an age of high demands
imposed by the information society, familiarity with digital
technology and the need for Europeans to adapt to new
economic and employment conditions — the above comment
acquires a particular resonance. It must therefore be made
clear that during the European Year of Education through
Sport all the interest groups of European society are called
upon to work together and play an active part.

3.5.2.2. Whether the objectives of the European Year of
Education through Sport have been achieved will not ulti-
mately be judged by the obligatory events in which only
specialists take part, or by messages that are not understood
by the people to whom they are addressed. Whether they have
been achieved will be judged by how well the objectives of the
Year are understood at local
level and especially by that
generation in European society that now holds and exercises
any form of power.

In view of

3.5.2.3.
the aim should be to
the above,
involve organised civil society and the social partners and all
educational organisations (e.g. study groups, night schools,
clubs) in the whole process. A further aim should also be to
involve local and regional authorities that have considerable
leverage potential, both with education systems and with
sports associations.

3.6. 2004

The EESC believes the Commission’s choice of 2004
3.6.1.
to be a good one. The major sporting events of that year
(Olympics and Paralympics in Athens, European football
championships in Portugal) will really provide a great oppor-
tunity; one that is of crucial significance for related measures
at grassroots level. Of course the substance of these measures
must be considered, as well as how they are to be developed.

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3.6.2.
The EESC believes that the main aim of measures
taken by the EU in this area must be to improve the quality of
links between education and sport. This means that during the
European Year of Education through Sport there must be a
focus on measures relating to the traditional values of sport,
as exemplified by the Olympic movement. It also means that
the year 2004 will provide an important opportunity to revise
the basic educational and pedagogical principles governing
European education systems. This will mean finding ways of
ensuring that the principles are consistent with the new
situation created by modern technology and new education
needs relevant to developments in sport.

3.6.2.1.
Relating EU measures in the sphere of sport and
education to the traditional values of sport and Olympic ideals
will be a difficult task, requiring a systematic, comprehensive
and large-scale effort. Identifying and promoting these ideals,
ensuring that they are understood by the general public, and
creating a mass movement to support them are important
phases in the project.

3.6.2.2.
During the period leading up to the European Year
of Education through Sport, important steps can be taken both
to identify and promote the traditional values of sport and to
ensure that they are understood by the general public. It will
suffice if various specific policies are introduced, policies
that are supported by the Commission and the other EU
institutions.

Gearing existing European programmes

(EVS,
3.6.2.3.
youth, other mobility programmes, etc.) to the objectives of
the European Year of Education through Sport could help to
promote mobility in the context of links between education
and sport.

3.6.2.4.
In any event, the EESC emphasises that relevant
action can and must be developed at local level if the year is to
be a success. It therefore proposes an immediate campaign
targeted at every school and every sports association. This
will be a message announcing the Commission initiative to
establish 2004 as the Year of Education through Sport and
calling at the very least on everybody to take steps to ensure
that the objectives of the year are reached.

4. Specific comments

On the basis of the above general comments, the EESC
4.1.
notes that
the activities and measures proposed by the
Commission (see Article 3 and Annex), and the organisations
called upon to support them, should be more clearly defined.
More specifically, the activities that the Commission itself
intends to develop must be defined; as must the activities that

are to be developed at international, national, regional and
local level and the methods of persuading public and private
organisations to take their own measures without funding.
This could also be presented as an explanatory proposal from
the Commission in the run-up to the European Year of
Education through Sport, in order to answer the questions of
local organisations. In the above context especially, the EESC
would like to make the following proposals.

4.1.1. A p l a c e f o r s p o r t i n s c h o o l s

4.1.1.1.
The EESC believes that re-establishing sport as an
educational activity is an important prerequisite for rethinking
the relationship between education and sport. In practice, this
means re-ordering the priorities of educational objectives,
methods and models — which will ultimately redefine the
current way of life of European citizens. This re-orientation
provides solutions in particular for children and young people,
by giving them a broader choice of more natural and lifelong
alternatives than those offered by virtual reality and video
games.

4.1.1.2.
The EESC also believes that any attempt to change
the current relationship between education and sport will
succeed only if specific decisions are taken. Of these, the
following are important:

— capitalising on the individual affinities and qualities of

young people in relation to sport;

— developing pro-sporting networks on the basis of the

above individual affinities and qualities;

— developing international and pan-European sports infor-
mation networks on the basis of schools or local sports
groups;

— developing a European dimension of school sports, for
instance by organising pan-European school compe-
titions for each type of sport or subject area;

— developing comprehensive electronic networks at Euro-
pean level for purposes of communication and, above all,
establishment of all forms of sports mobility.

4.1.1.3.
The EESC notes especially the need to relate sport
in schools to the current European context and to Europe’s
future. It therefore proposes that an environment be estab-
lished in which a European sporting consciousness can be
cultivated and developed. This would mean in particular
providing incentives for setting up cross-border and inter-
national sports teams. ‘Second-chance’ schools might possibly
form the basis for creating the first teams of this type.

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4.1.1.4.
The EESC notes in any event that sporting activity
— especially at the level of sport in schools — must not draw
dividing lines of any type or degree. On the contrary, it must
create an environment in which every form of conflict or
exclusion is reduced.

4.1.1.5.
The EESC suggests that the Commission should
call upon current experts in the process of promoting 2004 as
the European Year of Education through Sport.

4.1.3.2.
to the need for European Year measures specifically to:

The EESC would draw the Commission’s attention

— help regions that owing to poverty and socio-economic
conditions (regions lagging behind in development terms)
have not developed any type of individual or collective
links with organised sport;

— promote participation of women in sporting activities;

— promote sport for people with special needs;

4.1.2. A p l a c e f o r m a s s s p o r t

— bring the whole campaign into a more general policy
framework that will promote a culture of healthy living;

4.1.2.1. Mass sport deserves particular attention and devel-
opment with a view to realising the objectives of the Com-
mission’s proposals, in order to offset the consequences of the
modern sedentary lifestyle – both during working and leisure
time. Today more than ever people’s physical and mental
health depends on sports activity and mass sport. Mass sport
of any kind also promotes the personal development and
socialisation of participants.

To maximise the impact of mass sport, all the
4.1.2.2.
relevant parties will have to be involved in developing it. It is
important for access to sport to be universal and for all
facilities to be available in every location (especially facilities
that have received any public sector funding) to ensure the
widest possible usage. To this end, it is essential that all those
operators and organisations interested in mass sport and its
effects should be involved in developing it.

4.1.2.3.
The EESC feels that the above participants should
include institutions providing tertiary education and lifelong
learning, local and regional authorities, public services con-
cerned with issues such as sport, health, education and social
and environmental matters, as well as private organisations
providing mass sports facilities and services. The aim of
cooperation must be to maximise the impact of mass sport on
education, health and social attitudes.

— enhance sporting activities that cultivate and promote an

attitude of intolerance towards racism and xenophobia.

4.1.3.2.1. With respect to people with special needs in
particular, the EESC points to:

— the connection between the European Year of Education
through Sport (2004) and the European Year of People
with Disabilities (2003);

— the promotion by the European Year of Education
through Sport of mass sport for people with special
needs;

— the promotion of a closer relationship overall between
the organised sporting movement and people with special
needs, e.g. through providing access to sports facilities.

4.1.4. T h e E u r o p e a n d i m e n s i o n o f e d u c a t i o n

t h r o u g h s p o r t

Sport

is a particularly appropriate sphere for
4.1.4.1.
intergovernmental,
international and inter-regional cooper-
ation designed to develop joint education and cultural action
plans. The European Year of Education through Sport will
provide an opportunity to address the whole issue of creating
a European area of
learning and education. This is an
unresolved problem, despite its ever-growing implications, e.g.
for European economic competitiveness.

4.1.3.

P r o p o s a l s f o r s p o r t a m o n g v u l n e r a b l e
s o c i a l g r o u p s

4.1.5. T o w a r d s a n e w s p o r t s e t h i c

4.1.3.1.
The EESC feels that to be complete, a policy of
education through sport must take into serious consideration
the current position of socially vulnerable groups in relation
to sport in general. The Committee appreciates the activities
of many sports clubs in terms of social integration, especially
with respect to young people. Such initiatives should be
supported and be taken up by clubs that are not involved in
this type of activity.

The EESC believes that

the European Year of
4.1.5.1.
Education through Sport will have served its purpose if it
creates a climate in which the current situation of sport is
challenged, i.e. a situation in which sport is associated with the
image of a ‘superhuman’ athlete who constantly surpasses his
or her limits. This is the mythical athlete who exists only at
and for the moment of victory. If it proves possibleto create

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a climate of questioning, especially in schools and among
young people, a new sports ethic will certainly be established.

implies in terms of the difficulty of determining what is
relevant to quality of life and what is not;

4.1.5.2.
The European sports ethic of the 21st century
cannot be any different from the ethic required to educate
Europeans and imposed by modern society. Thus the new
European sports ethic must be sought
in the messages
transmitted by mass and amateur sports, by the hundreds of
thousands of sports associations which are supported by
voluntary efforts, by the individual and collective sports that
have no links with commercial activities. It is essential to try
and generate political support for this sports ethic.

4.1.6. T h e O l y m p i c G a m e s i n A t h e n s : s p o t -

l i g h t o n O l y m p i c v a l u e s

that

the basic values of

4.1.6.1.
The Olympic Games in Athens, as a major sports
and cultural event, will certainly give the Olympic movement
an opportunity that must not be lost. The EESC welcomes and
endorses the fact
the Olympic
movement are being highlighted again. The focus must again
be on friendly competition, the Olympic truce, cultivation of
the mind, in conjunction with cultivation of the body, as
values that could represent a goal of modern European society.
In the above context, European society will thus have the
opportunity to discuss, highlight and possibly revise some of
its positions and views relating to the quality of modern life:

— to demonstrate, agree and emphasise that the issue of
is more complex and difficult than just

‘good living’
ensuring the terms and conditions for survival;

— to demonstrate, agree and emphasise that seeking a good
quality of life is a matter for each individual, but at the
same time also for everybody together, with all that this

Brussels, 24 April 2002.

— to demonstrate, agree and emphasise that sporting
activity is a major factor determining individual and
collective quality of
life, while also establishing the
conditions for people to live a long — and active — life;

— to demonstrate, agree and emphasise that life does not
involve just competition, but also cooperation; indicators
are not just quantitative, but also qualitative;

— to demonstrate, agree on and determine the limitations
of the modern human being; i.e. what today is human
and what is not;

— to demonstrate, agree and emphasise that ‘good living’
does not necessarily and always mean achieving ever
higher quantitative goals; it means above all a consistent
and balanced individual and collective effort to achieve
learning and education (1).

The EESC feels that the aim is not to promote
4.1.6.2.
models from former eras. The aim is to develop an intellectual
exchange to explore the factors that lead to certain periods
being described historically as ‘golden ages’. Once these factors
are known, it will certainly be easier for European citizens to
identify and agree on a modern lifestyle, the future of Europe
and the new forms of governance they will choose, obviously
consciously and — why not? — for the long term.

(1) See definition (4) of the term education in footnote one in the
Appendix to the Information Report CES 1113/1999 (‘The
European Dimension of Education: its nature, content and pros-
pects’. Thus education is: ‘the product of all factors that influence
a person and the social product of education and learning
processes, which is expressed actively as a positive attitude to life’.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Göke FRERICHS