Decision No 291/2003/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 February 2003 establishing the European Year of Education through Sport 2004

Decision No 291/2003/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
of 6 February 2003
establishing the European Year of Education through Sport 2004
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 149 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee(2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions(3),
Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty(4),
Whereas:
(1) Promoting good quality education is one of the objectives of the European Community.
(2) The educational values of sport were acknowledged by the Nice European Council of 7, 8 and 9 December 2000, thus confirming previous declarations, particularly Declaration 29 attached to the Amsterdam Treaty in which sport is defined as something which forges the identity of people.
(3) The Nice European Council called upon the Community institutions to take due account of the educational values of sport in its action under various provisions of the Treaty, stressing in particular that it is important for Member States, with the support of the Community, to encourage voluntary activity.
(4) The Resolution of the Council and of the Ministers for Youth meeting within the Council of 17 December 1999 on the non-formal education dimension of sporting activities in the European Community youth programmes(5) considers that sporting activities can have a pedagogical value which contributes to strengthening civil society and calls upon the Commission to devise, in cooperation with the Member States, a coherent approach in order to exploit the educational potential of sport.
(5) In its Resolution on the Commission report on safeguarding current sports structures and maintaining the social function of sport(6), the European Parliament underlined the educational and social value of sport, as well as its role in combating racism and xenophobia.
(6) In its Resolution of 13 June 1997 on the role of the European Union in the field of sport(7), the European Parliament called for the organisation of a European Year of Sport.
(7) The Committee of the Regions noted in its opinion on the Commission's consultation paper "The European model of sport" how important sport is in shaping the individual.
(8) In its report on sport made to the European Council in Helsinki, the Commission examined the merits of using sport in education and youth-related matters given the values conveyed by sport.
(9) Regular exercise improves psychological and physical health and can make a positive contribution to the learning process.
(10) The education of young sportsmen and sportswomen should not suffer as a result of their participation in competitive sport.
(11) Education through sport should promote personal identity and development for girls and boys.
(12) Educational and training institutions at all levels should make fuller use of the opportunities offered by sport for transnational mobility and cultural exchanges.
(13) The Olympic and other sporting events in 2004 will heighten media coverage and public awareness of sport. This is an ideal opportunity to underline the educational value of sport.
(14) Action in Member States is the main way in which public awareness of the educational value of sport can be raised. However, the Community can support and reinforce such action through the establishment of a European Year of Education through Sport.
(15) A European Year of Education through Sport will complement and reinforce existing Community action to promote education and training, as well as the social inclusion of disadvantaged persons.
(16) The European Year of Education through Sport should be opened up for participation by the EFTA/EEA countries in accordance with the conditions established under the European Economic Area Agreement (EEA), and by the associated central and eastern European countries in line with the conditions laid down pursuant to their respective Europe Agreements. For Cyprus, this participation should be funded by additional appropriations in accordance with arrangements to be agreed upon, and for Malta and Turkey by additional appropriations in accordance with the EC Treaty.
(17) This Decision lays down for the entire duration of the programme a financial framework constituting the prime reference, within the meaning of point 33 of the Interinstitutional Agreement between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission of 6 May 1999 on budgetary discipline and improvement of the budgetary procedure(8).
(18) Since the objectives of the proposed action cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore, by reason of their scale, especially for the need for multilateral partnerships, transnational exchange of information and Community-wide dissemination of good practices, be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Decision does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives.
(19) The measures necessary for the implementation of this Decision should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission(9),