Resolution of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, on a European Union Work Plan for Sport for 2011-2014

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE MEMBER STATES,

RECALL the competence assigned to the European Union, in particular by Article 6 and Article 165 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, according to which sport is an area where action at EU level should support, coordinate and supplement the actions of Member States.

RECOGNISE that after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, there is a need for reinforced cooperation in sport at EU level.

WELCOME the Commission's Communication on Developing the European Dimension in Sport (1) and the main fields of action within its thematic chapters which build on the White Paper on Sport (2). The Communication is an important step toward the identification of areas for cooperation at EU level whilst respecting the autonomy of sport's governing structures and the principle of subsidiarity.

ACKNOWLEDGE that sport can contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

RECALL the Council resolution of 18 November 2010 where the Council agreed to convene, on a regular basis, generally in the margins of the Council meeting, an informal meeting of leading representatives of the EU public authorities and the sports movement with the aim of exchanging views on sporting issues in the EU (3).

AGREE to foster a framework of European cooperation in the field of sport by establishing a three-year EU Work Plan on Sport for Member State and Commission action, recognising and taking into account the achievements of the work in the informal structures established prior to the Lisbon Treaty.

CONSIDER that the three-year EU Work Plan on Sport should be governed by the following guiding principles:

UNDERLINE that this EU Work Plan should be a flexible framework which is capable of responding when appropriate to developments in the field of sport.

WELCOME the themes identified in the Communication and the White Paper which serve as a general basis for future cooperation and which are the following:

AGREE on the basis of the general list above, that the following themes should be given priority by Member States and the Commission for the period covered by the present work plan (up to mid-2014). These priority themes can be complemented by each Presidency in the light of any possible new developments:

AGREE on a list of specific actions in line with these priority themes and a timetable for their implementation, as set out in Annex I.

INVITE THE MEMBER STATES AND THE COMMISSION, WITHIN THEIR RESPECTIVE SPHERES OF COMPETENCE, WITH DUE REGARD FOR THE PRINCIPLE OF SUBSIDIARITY, TO:

(4) Previously referred to as ‘EU Working Groups’ on Anti-Doping, Education and Training in Sport, Sport and Health, Social Inclusion and Equal Opportunities in Sport, Sport and Economics, and Non-Profit Sport Organisations.

ANNEX I

Actions based on priority themes

Action	Expert Group	Output and target date
Integrity of sport, in particular the fight against doping and match-fixing and the promotion of good governance
Prepare draft EU comments to the revision of the WADA Code	Expert Group ‘Anti-Doping’	Preliminary draft EU comments by early 2012 and related follow-up
Develop a European dimension of the integrity of sport with the initial focus on the fight against match-fixing	Expert group ‘Good Governance in Sport’	Recommendations for future consideration by mid-2012
Develop principles of transparency concerning good governance	Expert Group ‘Good Governance in Sport’	Initial set of recommendations for consideration by end-2012
Address the issues identified related to access to and to supervision of the profession of sport agents and to transfers in team sports, including, in particular, the issue of transfer rules for young players	Expert Group ‘Good Governance in Sport’	Follow-up of Commission conference on sport agents and forthcoming study on transfers in team sports by mid-2013/end-2013, respectively
Social values of sport, in particular health, social inclusion, education and volunteering
Prepare a proposal for European guidelines on dual careers	Expert Group ‘Education and Training in Sport’	Proposal for European guidelines by end-2012
Follow-up to the inclusion of sport-related qualifications in NQFs with reference to EQF	Expert Group ‘Education and Training in Sport’	Summary on follow-up by mid-2013
Explore ways to promote health enhancing physical activity and participation in grassroot sport	Expert Group ‘Sport, Health and Participation’	Identification of measures by mid-2013
Economic aspects of sport, in particular sustainable financing of grassroots sports and evidence-based policy making
Recommend ways to promote data collection to measure the economic benefits of the EU sport sector in line with the Vilnius Definition and evaluate the results	Expert Group ‘Sport Statistics’	Recommendations for consideration by mid-2012, and evaluation of the results by end-2013
Recommend ways to strengthen financial solidarity mechanisms within sport	Expert Group ‘Sustainable Financing of Sport’	Recommendations for consideration by end-2012

ANNEX II

Principles relating to the membership and functioning of expert groups established by the Member States and the Commission in the framework of the EU Work Plan for Sport 2011-2014

Membership

—	The participation of Member States in the work of the groups is voluntary and Member States can join them at any time.

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Member States interested in participating in the work of the groups will nominate experts as members of the respective groups. Member States will ensure that the nominated experts have relevant experience in the relevant field at national level and will ensure effective communication with competent national authorities. The Commission will coordinate the nomination exercise.

—	Each expert group can decide to invite other participants: independent experts, representatives of the sport movement and other stakeholders, as well as representatives of European third countries.

Working procedures

—	Expert groups will concentrate on delivering concrete and useable results on the subject requested.

—	To implement this Work Plan, each expert group will be responsible for appointing its chair or co-chairs at the first expert group meeting after the adoption of the Work Plan. Each expert group will prepare a work schedule according to this Work Plan.

—	The Member States will be given an opportunity to give guidance to the expert groups in order to guarantee the desired outcome and timeline, as well as the coordination of the groups’ work.

—	The Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, will decide whether it is appropriate to propose new actions for the expert groups.

—	The Commission will provide expertise, as well as logistical and secretarial support to the work of the groups. As far as possible, it will support the groups by other suitable means (including studies relevant to their field of work).

—	Expert groups will meet in Brussels as a main rule, but can organise meetings outside Brussels when invited by a Member State.

—	Expert groups will meet as a main rule twice a year, but can adopt a different timetable if needed.

Reporting and information

—	The chairs of the expert groups will report to the Working Party on Sport on the progress of work in the respective expert groups and present recommendations on possible future actions to the Working Party on Sport.

—	The meeting agendas and meeting reports of all groups will be available to all Member States, irrespective of their degree of participation in a given area. The reports of the groups will be published.

—	The reports from the expert groups will feed into the report by the Commission on the implementation of the Work Plan.