WRITTEN QUESTION E-2671/03 by Toine Manders (ELDR) to the Commission. Action Plan for European Professional Football.
Date: 2003-09-10
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: broadcasting, competition law, free movement of programmes, marketing, professional sport, sporting event, sports body

C 58 E/192

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

6.3.2004

In its communication entitled ‘A stronger European-based pharmaceutical industry for the benefit of the
patient (cid:1) a call for action’ (1) of 1 July 2003, the Commission tackled the question of medicine prices in
several chapters.

In its communication the Commission suggested a number of ways to introduce measures to make the
market more vigorous and competitive with a view to encouraging market integration. On the one hand,
the Member States were asked to examine their existing pricing and reimbursement systems to ensure that
they operated fully in accordance with Directive 89/105/CEE (Transparency Directive) (2), to look into the
possibility of reducing the time lag between the authorisation of medicines and their actual availability on
the market and to see whether they could develop closer coordination of studies carried out in connection
with procedures for regulating pricing and reimbursement. On the other hand, the Commission gave an
undertaking in its communication that it would launch a reflection on finding alternative ways to control
national expenditure on health care, primarily by allowing manufacturers to set the prices of new products,
while at the same time negotiating with the Member States suitable safeguard mechanisms in line with
Community rules on competition and with the principle of the free movement of goods.

With regard to the first point, an initiative has been launched by the Transparency Committee (committee
on the transparency of measures regulating the pricing of medicinal products, set up by Directive 89/105/
EEC).

As for the second point, the Commission is currently working on a timetable and an action plan to
conclude the reflection on controlling national expenditure on health care and on a possible European
price for certain medicines.

(1) COM(2003) 383 final.
(2) Council Directive 89/105/EEC of 21 December 1988 relating to the transparency of measures regulating the prices
of medicinal products for human use and their inclusion in the scope of national health insurance systems, OJ L 40,
11.2.1989.

(2004/C 58 E/207)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2671/03

by Toine Manders (ELDR) to the Commission

(10 September 2003)

Subject: Action Plan for European Professional Football

The European Commission recently approved the UEFA’s revised media policy. According to the rules,
media rights may no longer be sold collectively and in packages, as was the case throughout Europe until
last year. The aim of the revised policy is to prevent the development of monopolies and to create market
forces. However, that does not seem to have happened in most countries. As a result of the sale of TV
rights in England, for example, BSkyB has acquired all the available broadcasting rights. In the Netherlands,
it has now become clear that the average income for football clubs will be considerably lower than it was.
The upshot of this is that, this season, even more professional football clubs in Europe will be struggling to
cope with deficits and will be able to survive only with aid from local authorities. And that encroaches on
another European policy area: competition. This is just one example of conflicting Community policy areas
adversely affecting professional football.

Pursuant to the case-law of the European Court of Justice, professional football clubs are held to be
commercial undertakings to which (cid:1) like undertakings in every other industry (cid:1) European rules are
applicable. In practice, the application of those rules seems to be having an adverse effect on the football
sector as a result of the many uncertainties and grey areas involved. The result is that the people running
professional football do not know whether they are coming or going, and that, too, contributes to the
further decline of European football, with all its negative social and economic consequences.

It
is time for the Commission to stop shilly-shallying and abandon its hand-to-mouth policy on
professional football. It must act decisively so as to clear up the many uncertainties with which the sector
is currently having to cope so that the clubs, players, spectators, national associations and local authorities
may have some idea of what is going on and not, as is currently the case, because of the lack of clarity in
the rules, be constantly worrying about whether or not they are complying with those rules.

6.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 58 E/193

Is the Commission aware of the harmful side-effects referred to above of UEFA’s revised media

1.
policy, as a result of which clubs will, on average, receive less income from TV rights?

Does the Commission agree with me that professional football in Europe is being adversely affected

2.
by various conflicting Community policy areas? If not, why not?

In the short term,

3.
football in respect of which greater clarity is required? If not, why not?

is the Commission planning to catalogue the issues concerning professional

4.
Is the Commission planning to initiate a structural policy with a view to giving a positive boost to
the ailing European football sector? If so, is it prepared to do that by devising an ‘Action Plan for European
Professional Football’ which lays down clear, detailed conditions and requirements with regard to European
rules such as state aid, media policy and transfer policy? If not, why not?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(17 October 2003)

The Honourable Parliamentarian refers to the final Commission Decision of July 2003 (1) which seeks to
grant an exemption in the case of the new rules on joint selling introduced by the Union of European
Football Associations (UEFA) concerning media rights to the Champions League.

On being notified about the rules on joint selling by UEFA in 1999, the Commission was initially opposed
to them because all television rights to the Champions League were sold in a single lot to a single
broadcaster on an exclusive basis for four years. UEFA’s rules on joint selling thus had the effect of
restricting competition between broadcasters. By restricting access to this key area of sport, they also
hampered the development of sports services on the Internet and the new generation of mobile phones,
which ran counter to the interests of broadcasters, clubs, supporters and consumers.

In July 2003, the Commission decided that the new rules were different. They enable UEFA to sell rights to
the Champions League while giving a greater number of broadcasters, Internet service providers and
telephone operators access to football and allowing clubs to market some of these rights individually.
The action taken by the Commission will thus help to increase the number and variety of football
programmes on television.

The Commission therefore does not share the Honourable Member’s view that the effects of this decision
are harmful. On the contrary, the Commission feels that this positive outcome to the situation shows that
the marketing of rights to football competitions can be brought into line with Community rules on
competition without upsetting the balance of the football sector. Moreover, there has been no sign of the
adverse effects referred to by the Honourable Member in his question on UEFA’s revised media policy, i.e.
the policy has not reduced the income earned by clubs from television rights. On the contrary, in its press
release of 18 September 2003, UEFA announced that revenue derived from the Champions league was
higher than forecast and was likely to rise by 13 % between 2003 and 2006, with substantial increases
expected in England, Scandinavia and the Netherlands.

The Commission feels that its relations with the world of football are coherent and does not know what
the Honourable Member might be referring to when he speaks about conflicting Community policy areas.

The Commission seeks to act strictly within its remit. It therefore does not plan to initiate any special
policy on European football or to adopt an ‘action plan for European professional football’. In keeping
with the spirit of the Nice Declaration (2), this matter is primarily the responsibility of sports organisations.

(1) C(2003) 2627 final (cid:1) Commission Decision of 23 July 2003 relating to a proceeding under to Article 81 of the EC
Treaty and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement (COMP/C.2-37 398) (cid:1) Joint selling of the commercial rights of the
UEFA Champions League.

(2) Annex IV to the Conclusions of the Presidency, Nice European Council (cid:1) 7, 8 and 9 December 2000, ‘Declaration
on the specific characteristics of sport and its social function in Europe, of which account should be taken in
implementing common policies’.