14.6.2016

Official Journal of the European Union

C 212/5

COUNCIL CONCLUSIONS

of 30 May 2016

on developing media literacy and critical thinking through education and training

(2016/C 212/05)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

RECALLING:

—	Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union, which states that the Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities;

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT:

—

The Paris Declaration, adopted on 17 March 2015 (1), which highlights the importance of ‘strengthening children’s and young people’s ability to think critically and exercise judgement so that, particularly in the context of the internet and social media, they are able to grasp realities, to distinguish fact from opinion, to recognise propaganda and to resist all forms of indoctrination and hate speech’;

—	The ET2020 Joint Report of 15 December 2015 (2), which designates the follow-up to the Paris Declaration as a key priority in the new work cycle (2015-2020) through ‘joint analysis, peer learning, meetings, dissemination of good practices and concrete measures underpinned by funding’;

—

The Resolution of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, of 24 February 2016 on promoting socioeconomic development and inclusiveness in the EU through education (3), which contains the commitment ‘to enhance young people’s digital and media literacy as well as their ability to think critically, along with their social skills and citizenship competences’;

AND IN THE LIGHT OF:

—

The Recommendation of the European Parliament and the Council of 18 December 2006 on key competences for lifelong learning (4), which identifies as key competences that all citizens should acquire: ‘digital competence’, which requires ‘a critical and reflective attitude towards available information and a responsible use of the interactive media’; ‘social and civic competences’ which include the ability to ‘understand different viewpoints’ and ‘a readiness to respect the values of others’; and ‘cultural awareness and expression’ which encompass ‘a sense of identity as the basis for an open attitude towards and respect for diversity’;

—

The Council conclusions of November 2012 on the European strategy for a Better internet for Children (5), which underline that ‘the education sector as well as parents have an important role to play in helping children to exploit opportunities offered by the internet in a beneficial and creative way, as well as identify and deal with risks encountered on the internet and that teachers and parents themselves need support and training not only to keep up with the fast and unpredictable changes in children’s virtual lives, but also the constantly evolving new technologies’;

—

The Commission communication of January 2014 on preventing radicalisation to terrorism and violent extremism (6), which singles out ‘closer cooperation with civil society and private sector to address challenges faced online and stepping up efforts to encourage young people to think critically about extremist messages’ among the main actions to be taken to prevent radicalisation;

—

The Council conclusions of November 2014 on European Audiovisual Policy in the Digital Era (7), which invite the Commission and the Member States to ‘promote good practices and research on the inclusion of media literacy in formal education and training, as well as in non-formal and informal learning’;

—

The conclusions of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, on the role of the youth sector in an integrated and cross-sectoral approach to preventing and combating violent radicalisation of young people, which invite the Member States and the Commission to support young people in ‘countering extremist influences on the internet and in social media and in developing critical thinking and the relevant knowledge, skills and competences to understand the different sources and agendas behind the information provided, including propaganda and hate speech’ (8);

CONSIDERS THAT:

The internet — and social media in particular — offer unprecedented, almost limitless opportunities in terms of sharing knowledge and ideas. By providing instant access to vast amounts of information, as well as access to a wide range of sources, they can have a significant impact on opinions, attitudes and perceptions. They also offer everyone a platform to create, share and publish content themselves, thus helping to unlock talent, foster creativity and promote innovation.

Today’s world is characterised by easy and continuous access to the internet, with people, especially the young, spending more and more time online (9). Virtual communities and contacts — notably via social media and instant messaging services — are growing in importance.

AGAINST THIS BACKGROUND, ALSO NOTES THAT:

Media literacy — that is, all the technical, cognitive, social, civic and creative capacities that allow us to access and have a critical understanding of and interact with both traditional and new forms of media (10) — is of increasing importance. It is closely related to active engagement in democratic life, to citizenship and the ability to exercise judgment critically and independently as well as to reflect on one’s own actions, and can thereby enhance young people’s resilience in the face of extremist messages and disinformation.

Digital competence, which encompasses the confident, creative and critical use of ICT, is a crucial component of media literacy. A low level of digital competence can leave a person at a disadvantage, not just on the labour market where almost all jobs require some level of digital competence, but also in society at large. As such, there is a clear link between enhancing digital competence and efforts to create more inclusive and cohesive societies.

Media literacy — linked to literacy and communication skills in general — also involves other key competences, notably ‘social and civic competences’ which have a clear link to critical thinking, ensuring that people can value diversity and respect the views and values of others, but also ‘cultural awareness and expression’ which are underpinned by the ability to relate one’s own way of expressing points of view to those of others, including those with different cultural backgrounds.

ACKNOWLEDGES THAT:

While digital competence is increasingly becoming indispensable, an alarmingly high number of people still lack a basic level of digital competence (11), putting them at risk of unemployment and social exclusion. This can contribute to creating a ‘digital divide’, which can lead to social and economic inequalities and which poses a clear challenge to our education and training systems.

As well as the many benefits and opportunities which they can bring, the internet and social media also present potential threats and dangers, most notably by making available online content that is inappropriate or even harmful for children and young people, including hate speech and content that trivialises violence. Other unwelcome phenomena include online grooming and cyber-bullying, which can significantly affect the well-being and development of children, as well as have a negative impact on their educational performance.

The recent terrorist attacks in Europe and other incidents of violent extremism have raised particular concerns about the unparalleled possibilities that the internet and social media provide for extremist groups of all kinds to spread hatred and violence-inciting messages freely and to find an audience among disaffected youth. Radicalisation of the kind leading to violence often has a transnational dimension, whereby networks of extremists engage with vulnerable youth, regardless of borders. While it is unlikely that increasing educational attainment would stop all forms of violent extremism, education and training can and should contribute to preventing radicalisation.

AGREES THAT:

As part of their overall mission to prepare young people for society and the labour market, as well as to support them in achieving personal fulfilment, education and training have an important role to play in helping young people to become media literate and responsible citizens of the future.

One key element of education and training’s mission is to instil in young people fundamental values such as those enshrined in the Treaty on European Union and to develop and maintain an open and inquiring mindset, while being able to think independently and critically, to exercise sound judgment using fact-based knowledge and to resist and counter extremist messages, indoctrination and disinformation.

To remain relevant, it is crucial that education and training staff at all levels keep pace with these rapid developments and provide learners with the competences — knowledge, skills and attitudes — and values needed to access, interpret, produce and use information and other media content, notably in the context of the internet and social media, in a safe and responsible manner.

Comprehensive ‘whole school’ approaches involving the entire school community as well as other relevant stakeholders can be of great importance, since learning to use the internet and social media responsibly often takes place outside the classroom in non-formal and informal settings.

INVITES THE MEMBER STATES, WITH DUE REGARD FOR SUBSIDIARITY, TO:

Encourage sufficient attention to be paid to developing media literacy and critical thinking in education and training at all levels, including through citizenship and media education.

Seek to increase digital competence levels among learners of all ages, in a lifelong learning perspective, as an important precondition for strengthening their ability to participate actively in the democratic life of our modern societies as well as for enhancing their employability.

Consider using, alongside national frameworks and tools, the European Digital Competence Framework for Citizens, the Council of Europe’s Framework of Competences of Democratic Culture and the Unesco Global Media and Information Literacy Assessment Framework.

Encourage socially safe learning environments, both online and offline, in which controversial issues can be openly discussed and freedom of speech preserved, and empower teaching staff to initiate and moderate such discussions.

Support teaching staff and school leaders at all levels of education and training in developing through initial training and continuous professional development their own digital competence, as well as the pedagogical skills needed to use new technologies and open educational resources in their teaching and to address the issues of media literacy and critical thinking in an effective manner with learners of all ages and backgrounds.

Engage with parents and other stakeholders in society at large, with a view to reducing the digital gap between generations and fostering a shared culture of dialogue and mutual understanding.

Reinforce dialogue, cooperation and partnerships between the education and training sector and the media sector — including journalists — as well as all other relevant stakeholders, including civil society and youth organisations, given that the effective development of media literacy and critical thinking calls for a multi-disciplinary approach and recalling the important role that non-formal and informal learning can play in this regard.

Encourage innovative, creative and participative ways of developing media literacy and critical thinking in education and training, for instance by carrying out research and by exploring the potential that culture and arts, intercultural approaches and school media production can offer, as a means of strengthening openness towards other cultures and active citizenship.

INVITES THE MEMBER STATES AND THE COMMISSION, WITHIN THEIR RESPECTIVE COMPETENCES, TO:

In the context of the ET2020 strategic framework, continue to promote peer learning, including through the collection and dissemination of good practices in the field of media literacy and critical thinking, while paying special attention to effectively reaching out to disadvantaged learners and those at risk of marginalisation.

Ensure policy coherence at EU level in the area of media literacy, so that the expert work being carried out in the various relevant policy areas, such as education, youth, culture and audiovisual policy, as well as in the area of counter-terrorism, is complementary, while taking into account the specificities of the education and training sector.

Support efforts to equip teaching staff with the skills and tools needed to address the issues of media literacy and critical thinking in an effective manner with learners of all ages and backgrounds, inter alia, by using the School Education Gateway and by promoting peer-to-peer learning via the e-Twinning platform.

Continue to cooperate with, and take into account the work done by, other multilateral fora, such as the Council of Europe (12), Unesco and the OECD, since the challenges cross borders and affect countries both inside and outside the European Union.

Encourage use of the funding opportunities offered by all relevant EU funds and programmes — notably Erasmus+, the Connecting Europe Facility, the European Structural and Investment Funds, Horizon 2020, Creative Europe and Europe for Citizens — to support these efforts.

(1) Declaration on promoting citizenship and the common values of freedom, tolerance and non-discrimination through education, Paris, 17 March 2015.

(2) OJ C 417, 15.12.2015, p. 25.

(3) OJ C 105, 19.3.2016, p. 1.

(4) OJ L 394, 30.12.2006, p. 10.

(5) OJ C 393, 19.12.2012, p. 11.

(6) Doc. 5451/14.

(7) OJ C 433, 3.12.2014, p. 2.

(8) Doc. 9640/16.

(9) More than half of all Europeans use social networks; the majority of those users are young. 84 % of European under 30 use social media and the younger the age group, the closer this percentage approaches 100 %.

(10) These capacities allow us to exercise critical thinking, while participating in the economic, social and cultural aspects of society and playing an active role in the democratic process. The concept covers different media: broadcasting, video, radio, press, through various channels: traditional, internet, social media and addresses the needs of all ages.

(11) In the EU, 40 % of citizens have no or low digital skills, whereas around 90 % of jobs are estimated to need at least some level of digital skills in the EU. Acquiring those skills is thus rapidly becoming a precondition for workers to become and remain employable.

(12) Notably in the context of the Strategy for the Rights of the Child 2016-2021, as adopted on 2 March 2016 by the Committee of Ministers, which addresses the issue of protecting and promoting the rights of the child in the digital environment.

14.6.2016

Official Journal of the European Union

C 212/9

Council conclusions on the role of Europeana for the digital access, visibility and use of European cultural heritage

(2016/C 212/06)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

RECALLING THAT

digitisation and online access to cultural heritage and its long-term preservation are essential to enable access for all to culture and knowledge, promote richness and diversity of European cultural heritage and contribute to the achievement of the digital single market through the increasing offer of new and innovative products and services (1);

Europeana which was launched in 2008 as an online common multilingual access point for digital cultural material (2) and since then connects digital collections of cultural heritage from Member States, has become a common European cultural project for accessing and showcasing European cultural heritage;

further development of Europeana and national policies for digital cultural heritage was supported by the Council (3), the Commission (4) and the European Parliament (5);

reuse of digital heritage was promoted through the inclusion, under certain conditions, of cultural heritage institutions within the scope of the Directive on the reuse of public sector information (6) and by the adoption of the Directive on certain permitted uses of orphan works (7);

TAKES NOTE OF

the Commission’s intention to assess options and consider legislative initiatives to make it easier to digitise out-of-commerce works and make them available online, including across the EU, as part of its announced copyright modernisation initiative (8);

NOTES THAT

in its current form, Europeana is an internet platform allowing multilingual access to and distribution of digital cultural heritage held by separate cultural heritage institutions. It is also a multi-sided platform (9) that aims to create value for end-users, Member States, cultural heritage institutions, research and creative reuse.

As such, Europeana is currently:

—	operated by a consortium of which the Europeana Foundation (10) is the central coordinator and main beneficiary of EU funding,

—	supported by the EU from the Connecting Europe Facility (11) (CEF) as a digital service infrastructure (DSI) for ‘access to digital resources of European heritage’,

—	supported by Member States that share content, metadata and expertise through their cultural heritage institutions and provide voluntary financial contributions to the Europeana Foundation,

—	supported by the Europeana Network Association which assembles cultural heritage, creative and technology professionals who support the day-to-day activities of Europeana and advise on its strategy;

AGREES THAT

the individual and combined efforts of cultural heritage institutions, Member States and the Commission have led to progress towards the digitisation, online accessibility and (long-term) digital preservation of cultural heritage (12);

digital preservation of world cultural heritage, held in European collections, is important notably in light of the destruction of and threat to cultural heritage in conflict zones;

coordination of efforts through Europeana for the online accessibility of cultural heritage has helped:

—	stimulate capacity building by creating a network of experts and cultural heritage institutions, which promotes the development, uptake and consistent use of models, standards and frameworks for sharing content and metadata,

—	cultural heritage institutions to share their collections across sectors and across national borders through a multi-sided internet platform, which to date gives access to more than 50 million items from around 3 700 institutions,

—	encourage the availability of high-quality data ready for reuse (13) which improves availability of cultural heritage on open platforms and social media and promotes its reuse in other sectors.

10.

connecting digital heritage collections through Europeana also contributes to the following objectives at EU level:

—	giving a wide range of audiences access to the richness and diversity of European cultures, as well as to world cultural heritage,

—	facilitating research in and knowledge of the multifaceted culture and history of Europe,

—	facilitating reuse in new and innovative cross-border online services, and thereby contributing to the digital single market;

UNDERLINES THAT

11.

reuse and sharing of content and access to it must be carried out in full compliance with copyright and related rights;

RECOGNISES THAT THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES LIE AHEAD:

12.

certain technological aspects of the Europeana internet platform, such as semantic interoperability (14), should be enhanced, allowing cultural heritage institutions to connect, and share and update their content and metadata in a flexible, easy and sustainable way;

13.

as one of the entry points to digital cultural heritage, Europeana’s multilingual access point should become more user-friendly, in particular by improving the quality and findability of content and further developing semantic and multilingual search functionalities in line with best available practices;

14.

to better reach and engage end-users, content shared through Europeana needs to be presented in attractive and diverse ways, in particular by involving cultural heritage institutions and third parties as multiple entry and dissemination points, for example through cultural trans-European projects such as the projects on World War I (1914-1918) and the fall of the Iron Curtain and other revolutionary events of 1989;

15.

the governance of Europeana needs to become more inclusive, involving Member States’ governments, the wider network of aggregators and cultural heritage institutions in the setting of strategic priorities and the development of cultural, user-oriented projects on the basis of the available funding; where appropriate, the views of key cultural figures can be taken into account;

16.

there is a continued need for sharing and updating knowledge and identifying common solutions within the network of cultural heritage professionals, including the Europeana Network Association;

17.

the current public funding model (based on grants) does not provide a sufficiently stable basis for sustaining the Europeana investment to date and safeguarding its future quality, availability and reliability for the following reasons:

—	the Europeana Foundation was set up as an organisation without own resources and in the foreseeable future there is no prospect of raising significant income from Europeana services,

—	under the EU grant model, there are always ineligible costs which must be covered by other sources, such as direct voluntary contributions from the Member States, which have been in decline since 2014 and are volatile by nature;

AND THEREFORE

18.

the cultural and digital innovation value of Europeana should be strengthened through re-envisaging the core service platform under the CEF, focusing on:

—	supporting the professional networks such as the Europeana Network Association,

—	achieving technological advancement,

—	sustaining a multi-sided internet platform for sharing and (re)using metadata and content, and

—	providing a general multilingual access point to cultural content.

It should also be strengthened through the realisation of cultural and user-oriented projects that build on the Europeana infrastructure, and which are to be co-financed under the CEF as generic services with the involvement of cultural heritage institutions and other public and private parties;

INVITES THE EUROPEANA OPERATOR TO:

19.

make significant strides towards dealing with the challenges ahead as identified in these conclusions;

20.

engage with outstanding issues in existing partner organisations or concerns of potential partner organisations in particular in countries and areas where the project is not yet sufficiently known;

21.

explore possibilities for cooperating with related European initiatives, including in the area of research;

22.

closely involve Member States in the policy- and decision-making. For the Europeana Foundation, this could be organised in particular through participation in the Governing Board of the Member State holding the Presidency of the Council of the EU, the Member State that held the previous Presidency and the Member State that will hold the next Presidency;

23.

have more systematic contacts with Member States, improve and provide permanent access to country- and institution-specific user statistics and improve the accountability on project results and spending;

24.

continue to explore possibilities for raising own income;

INVITES THE COMMISSION:

25.

by October 2017, to present to the Council an independent evaluation of Europeana and give clear orientations for the mid- and long-term development of Europeana by assessing alternatives at the EU level for the future scope, sustainable funding and governance of Europeana, including a possibility to transform or integrate Europeana into a European legal entity, whilst taking account of the dual nature of Europeana as both a cultural and digital innovation project;

26.

by October 2017, to switch the funding method for the Europeana DSI under the CEF to a combination of procurement and grants. Under this model, EU procurement will fully cover the core service platform to ensure stability and interoperability, whilst EU grants (up to 75 % of eligible costs) will be available for related user-oriented projects (i.e. generic services under the CEF) which Member States can co-fund on a voluntary basis, either directly and/or through participating national organisations;

27.

to set conditions in the procurement procedure for the core service platform requiring the operator to safeguard its character of a public infrastructure and community for culture and digital innovation, in particular by:

—	enabling the continuous involvement of Member States and cultural heritage institutions in the development of Europeana’s core service platform,

—	respecting the national cultural institutions as right holders of the metadata and content;

28.

ensure that Europeana generic services receiving grants are built on and connected with the core service platform;

29.

by December 2016:

—	to renew and revise the mandate of the Member States Expert Group on digitisation and digital preservation (MSEG) until 2020,

—	to strengthen its role to review and discuss policies for digital cultural heritage as well as to give guidance on Europeana’s annual work programmes,

—	to closely involve the MSEG in defining the general objectives, priorities for actions and the envisaged level of funding to be proposed for the Europeana core service platform and generic services in the annual CEF work programmes, which are submitted to the CEF Committee for opinion;

INVITES MEMBER STATES, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PRINCIPLE OF SUBSIDIARITY, TO:

30.

further promote digitisation of cultural heritage collections, as well as the widest possible access and reuse of digital cultural heritage;

31.

put in place or sustain strategies and operational mechanisms such as national and regional aggregators, and encourage online accessibility of high-quality cultural heritage content and metadata from national and regional collections;

32.

encourage cultural heritage institutions to join and support Europeana both by sharing content and metadata, by participating in the Europeana Network Association, and by promotion and dissemination efforts, making use of projects funded by EU grants;

33.

engage in the MSEG as a forum to discuss policies for digital cultural heritage as well as Europeana’s strategy and funding, and aim to ensure coordination between delegates to the MSEG, the CEF committee and the Council preparatory body in the field of culture;

34.

consider supporting Europeana’s activities through voluntary financial contributions to the Europeana Foundation, bearing in mind that such contributions are necessary, until the new procurement-based scheme is put in place and consider thereafter voluntary co-funding of Europeana’s projects funded by EU grants;

INVITES THE EUROPEANA OPERATOR, COMMISSION AND MEMBER STATES TO:

35.

promote the value of Europeana as a European cultural project serving the public interest and as a professional network amongst all stakeholders, by also engaging the research and innovation, education, tourism, and creative sectors.

(1) Council conclusions of 10 May 2012 on the digitisation and online accessibility of cultural material and digital preservation (OJ C 169, 15.6.2012, p. 5).

(2) Council conclusions of 20 November 2008 on the European digital library EUROPEANA (OJ C 319, 13.12.2008, p. 18).

(3) Council conclusions of 10 May 2012 on the digitisation and online accessibility of cultural material and digital preservation (OJ C 169, 15.6.2012, p. 5), Council conclusions of 21 May 2014 on cultural heritage as a strategic resource for a sustainable Europe (OJ C 183, 14.6.2014, p. 36) and Council conclusions on participatory governance of cultural heritage (OJ C 463, 23.12.2014, p. 1).

(4) Commission Recommendation of 27 October 2011 on the digitisation and online accessibility of cultural material and digital preservation (OJ L 283, 29.10.2011, p. 39).

(5) European Parliament resolution of 5 May 2010 on ‘Europeana — the next steps’ 2009/2158(INI).

(6) Directive 2013/37/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 amending Directive 2003/98/EC on the re-use of public sector information (OJ L 175, 27.6.2013, p. 1).

(7) Directive 2012/28/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on certain permitted uses of orphan works (OJ L 299, 27.10.2012, p. 5).

(8) As stated in the Commission Communication of 9 December 2015‘Towards a modern, more European copyright framework’ (15264/15).

(9) A ‘multi-sided platform’ is one of the prevailing models of the internet economy. Multi-sided platforms create value by facilitating interaction between two or more distinct, but interdependent groups. As such the platform is of value to one group of users only if the other groups of users are also present (based on http://divergence.academy/business-models/what-is-a-multi-sided-platform/).

(10) The Europeana Foundation is a private foundation established under Dutch law.

(11) Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 establishing the Connecting Europe Facility (OJ L 348, 20.12.2013, p. 129), in conjunction with Regulation (EU) No 283/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2014 on guidelines for trans-European networks in the area of telecommunications infrastructure (OJ L 86, 21.3.2014, p. 14).

(12) An estimated 10 % of cultural heritage (around 300 million objects) in the Member States is now digitised, of which roughly one third is available online.

http://www.enumerate.eu/fileadmin/ENUMERATE/documents/ENUMERATE-Digitisation-Survey-2014.pdf

(13) High-quality data ready for re-use means high resolution images; machine-readable, open and interoperable formats; rich descriptions and metadata, suited to automatic search; geolocation and copyright information.

(14) Semantic operability ensures that programmes can exchange information, combine it with other information resources and subsequently process it in a meaningful manner (European Interoperability Framework for pan-European eGovernment services: http://ec.europa.eu/idabc/servlets/Docd552.pdf?id=19529).

In the case of Europeana, this could consist of the development of tools and technologies to improve the automatic ingestion and interpretation of the metadata provided by cultural institutions, for example, by mapping the names of artists so that an artist known under several names is recognised as the same person.

14.6.2016

Official Journal of the European Union

C 212/14

Conclusions of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, on enhancing integrity, transparency and good governance in major sport events

(2016/C 212/07)

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

TAKING NOTE OF:

The resolution of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting within the Council, of 21 May 2014, on the European Union Work Plan for Sport (2014-2017) of which one of the three main priorities is the integrity of sport;

The principles of good governance in sport delivered by the Expert Group on Good Governance in 2013 and the guiding principles relating to democracy, human rights and labour rights, in particular in the context of the awarding procedure for major sport events, delivered by this expert group in January 2016 (1);

The recommendations on major sport events, in particular on legacy aspects with a focus on social, economic and environmental sustainability, delivered by the Expert Group on the Economic Dimension of Sport in January 2016 (2);

Global initiatives (3) including initiatives of the international sport movement such as the Olympic Agenda 2020 adopted by the International Olympic Committee during its 127th session held on 12 December 2014, incorporating recommendations devoting significant attention to integrity issues and making sustainable development an integral part of major sport events including the Olympic Games (4);

STRESSING THAT:

Major sport events (5) are attractive opportunities to celebrate the performance, values and benefits of sport in a national and international context. Major sport events can be a positive showpiece for sport attracting huge attention among sportspeople, stakeholders and the general public with the potential to inspire adults and children to participate in sport;

Major sport events can play an important role in the development of the region or city and garner a great deal in terms of economic, social and environmental impact, if this is carefully planned from the earliest possible stage. The legacy and sustainability of major sport events may have significance both for the legitimacy of and support for major sport events;

In the context of major sport events relevant integrity and governance issues are raised such as democratic and transparent decision making, accountability, sustainable development and positive legacy, human rights, including children's rights and workers' rights and gender equality as well as the prevention of all forms of discrimination, and of the threats to the integrity of sport, such as doping, match-fixing and violence;

Due to the attention major sport events attract and the high financial and economic stakes involved, they are vulnerable to processes which can taint the integrity of sport – thus making major sport events not only a platform, but a notable test case for integrity, transparency and good governance including sustainability and legacy;

AWARE OF:

The challenges faced by sport organisations, public authorities on a national, regional and local level, companies, media and other partners to make provisions and facilities sustainable and making proper arrangements for a major sport event in all its phases (feasibility, bidding, preparation, organisation, evaluation, legacy);

10.

In some cases limited transparency in the procedures and processes of decision making during all phases of major sport events both by the awarding and bidding entities; and the limited implementation of the principles of good governance among international sport federations;

11.

The financial, technical, political and legislative requirements and associated costs (6) for major sport events as well as increasingly competitive bids, and possibly ‘overbidding’ leading to a corresponding escalation of hosting costs, thereby often excluding smaller EU countries and cities from the bidding for and hosting of such events;

12.

The withdrawal of a number of candidate cities and countries from the organisation of major sport events in the EU, the decreasing share of major sport events held in the EU and the decreasing level of support by European citizens for hosting these sport events (7);

13.

The increased interest of EU countries and sport federations in jointly hosting some major sport events across multiple countries, regions and cities;

UNDERLINING:

14.

The role of national, regional and local public authorities involved in major sport events, for example in financing, infrastructure, environmental protection, safety and security, as well as planning and ensuring the sustainability and legacy of major sport events;

15.

Sport organisations are expected to manage their sports in accordance with the basic and recognised principles of good governance, such as transparency, democratic processes, checks and balances and solidarity, given the essentially self-regulated organisation of sport;

16.

The importance of strengthened and continuous dialogue and cooperation between public authorities and sport organisations, supported by an appropriate dialogue between the EU and the international sports movement, leading to shared values regarding integrity, transparency and good governance and sustainable development as well as to joint agreements and arrangements taking into account each other's responsibilities and interests;

ACCORDINGLY INVITE THE MEMBER STATES,

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE PRINCIPLE OF SUBSIDIARITY, TO:

17.

Promote and implement integrity, transparency and good governance in major sport events, during all phases of the event (feasibility, bidding, preparation, organisation, evaluation, legacy) including the period after the closure of the event, addressing all stakeholders involved as partners in the event, by initiatives such as:

Guaranteeing the use of transparent and democratic procedures during all phases of major sport events and require all other partners to do so, with special attention to informing and involving the public, to independent reporting, auditing, evaluation and accountability, and to perform a reliable cost-benefit analysis preceding the decision of the bid;

b)	Using transparent and relevant criteria for public support of the organisations involved, demanding e.g. the implementation of the basic principles of good governance, and the transparency and democracy of procedures used by these organisations;

c)	Requesting from all stakeholders involved as partners in major sports event to comply with recognized international standards and participate in initiatives such as UN Global Compact, UN Guiding principles on Business and Human Rights, ISO 26000 and 20121;

Using transparent and relevant principles as the basis for providing public support of major sport events regarding specific integrity issues such as human rights, including children's rights and workers' rights and gender equality, as well as the prevention of all forms of discrimination and threats to the integrity of sport, such as doping, match-fixing and violence;

18.

Ensure a long-term and positive legacy of major sport events as part of good governance, as well as social, economic and environmental sustainability in the context of the urban and regional development in EU Member States;

INVITE THE MEMBER STATES AND THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION WITHIN THEIR RESPECTIVE COMPETENCES TO:

19.

Incorporate integrity, transparency, good governance, sustainability and legacy of major sport events in future work on sport at EU level, including facilitating exchange of information and discussions of relevant topics in relation to major sport events;

20.

Support the implementation of criteria and procedures related to integrity, transparency and good governance, including sustainability and legacy, of major sport events, where appropriate, based on the existing guidelines and recommendations and in compliance with recognized international declarations and standards, which could be used as reference points by Member States and local authorities for public support of major sport events;

21.

Identify and develop models for public-private cooperation and exchange good practices regarding this cooperation, which could be used by Member States and local authorities when entering into partnership agreements for the staging of major sport events with specific attention for sport events that take place in multiple countries, regions and cities;

INVITE THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION TO:

22.

Launch a study on hosting major sport events in multiple countries, and regions within the EU, taking into account possible administrative and legislative obstacles at national and European level and the expected impacts of such events;

23.

Support transnational projects and, where relevant, independent research on the integrity, transparency and good governance of major sport events including sustainability and legacy aspects, in the framework of EU funding programmes such as Erasmus+ and Horizon 2020;

24.

Encourage sharing and publishing of good practices and learning experiences and facilitate the transfer of knowledge between the EU Member States and the sport movement about the integrity, transparency and good governance of major sport events, including sustainability and legacy aspects as well as support and encourage the identification, and, if necessary, the development of methods and tools, including:

a.	reliable cost-benefit analyses;

b.	measuring the support of the population;

c.	measuring the social, economic and environmental impacts and legacies of major sport events;

d.	external and independent evaluation of major sport events;

25.

Develop a light monitoring system, such as pledge board or by use of the UN Global Compact, to measure progress towards integrity, transparency and good governance for hosting organisations of major sport events in EU Member States;

INVITE THE INTERNATIONAL SPORT MOVEMENT, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE AUTONOMY OF SPORT, TO CONSIDER TO:

26.

Continue to organise accessible and attractive major sport events that are a showpiece for the positive values of sport and the role of sport in society and the promotion of social cohesion;

27.

Encourage the implementation of the basic principles of good governance leading to transparency, democratic processes, checks and balances and solidarity regarding the organisation of major sport events and to comply with recognized international standards and participate in initiatives such as the UN Global Compact, the UN Guiding principles on Business and Human Rights and ISO 26000 and 20121;

28.

Promote, implement and monitor integrity, transparency and good governance in major sport events, during the different phases of the event including feasibility, bidding, preparation, organisation, evaluation and legacy, and address all stakeholders involved as partners in the event;

29.

Employ transparent and democratic procedures during all phases of major sport events and require all other partners to do so, with special attention to informing and involving the national, regional and local sport organisations, the general public and to independent reporting, auditing, evaluation and accountability;

30.

Develop and publish a catalogue of realistic requirements in the bidding phase of major sport events including transparent selection procedures and relevant selection criteria for the awarding of major sport events, regarding specific integrity issues such as human rights, including children's rights and workers' rights and gender equality, as well as the prevention of all forms of discrimination, and threats to the integrity of sport such as doping, match-fixing and violence;

31.

Actively promote social, economic and environmental sustainability and a long-term and positive legacy of major sport events as part of good governance, in the requirements of the contract with the hosting organisation and the monitoring of the event (8);

INVITE THE MEMBER STATES, THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION AND THE INTERNATIONAL SPORT MOVEMENT WITHIN THEIR RESPECTIVE COMPETENCES TO:

32.

Continue and intensify dialogue between Member States, the European Commission and the sport movement about integrity, transparency and good governance including sustainability and legacy of major sport events;

33.

Agree on a shared agenda, starting in the first instance with the Olympic Movement and the responsible international football organisations, and with the aim to expand to other international sport federations, to improve integrity, good governance and transparency during all phases of major sport events, and addressing all stakeholders involved in the partnership needed to organise these events, thus also activating the positive potential and sustainability and legacy of major events and regaining the trust of EU citizens;

34.

Undertake common actions such as:

a)	developing guiding models for public-private cooperation to be used in the organisation of major sport events at national level;

b)	developing a code of conduct for all public and private parties involved in hosting organisations of major sport events, where appropriate;

exchanging information and discuss topics regarding future major sport events such as the sustainability and legacy, criteria related to integrity and good governance, specific demands of associations and associated costs, possible administrative and legislative obstacles at European level and a safe and secure environment for events;

d)	making use of existing models and, where appropriate, developing new models of joint multi-country major sport events;

e)	encouraging event organizers to conduct a survey of the social, economic and environmental impact of the event to the hosting country, region or city after the closure of the event;

35.

Organise a regular high-level dialogue as part of the EU structured dialogue on sport (9), with governmental representatives, representatives of the European and international Olympic movement and European and international sport federations involved in major sport events, and independent experts, where appropriate. Based on a shared agenda and actions, such as mentioned in paragraph 34, the topics regarding major sport events, where governments and sport organisations share responsibilities, and exchange information, could be discussed.

(1) Doc. 14183/13 and Expert Group on Good Governance (XG GG) - Guiding Principles relating to democracy, human rights and labour rights, in particular in the context of the awarding procedure of major sport events, final document 13 January 2016.

(2) Expert Group on the Economic Dimension of Sport (XG ECO) - Recommendations on major sport events, in particular on legacy aspects with a focus on social, economic and environmental sustainability. (The Report of XG ECO).

(3) E.g. the Declaration of Berlin adopted by the 5th International Conference of Ministers and Senior Officials responsible for Physical Education and Sport (MINEPS V) 28-30 May 2013.

(4) International Olympic Committee (2014): Olympic Agenda 2020, 20 + 20 recommendations.

(5) The EU Expert Group on the Economic Dimension of Sport defines a ‘major sporting event’ as an event organised by one or several host countries, regions or cities and attended by different international delegations with the aim of practising one or several sports. Such events are often characterised by major and logistical challenges. Major sport events have a high international media profile, welcome several thousands of people, including supporters, journalists, technical teams and officials, and are often organised over several consecutive days.

(6) E.g. operational costs and infrastructural costs related to event, transport and accommodation, safety and security costs.

(7) Hover, P. et al. (2016): Integrity and sport events, position paper. Utrecht: Mulier Instituut (March 2016).

(8) The Report of the XG ECO, in particular recommendations 1 to 7 and 21.

(9) OJ C 322, 27.11.2010.

14.6.2016

Official Journal of the European Union

C 212/18

Euro exchange rates (1)

13 June 2016

(2016/C 212/08)

1 euro =

	Currency	Exchange rate
USD	US dollar	1,1268
JPY	Japanese yen	119,51
DKK	Danish krone	7,4356
GBP	Pound sterling	0,79515
SEK	Swedish krona	9,3265
CHF	Swiss franc	1,0888
ISK	Iceland króna
NOK	Norwegian krone	9,3265
BGN	Bulgarian lev	1,9558
CZK	Czech koruna	27,035
HUF	Hungarian forint	312,37
PLN	Polish zloty	4,3884
RON	Romanian leu	4,5178
TRY	Turkish lira	3,2939
AUD	Australian dollar	1,5228
CAD	Canadian dollar	1,4390
HKD	Hong Kong dollar	8,7470
NZD	New Zealand dollar	1,5949
SGD	Singapore dollar	1,5272
KRW	South Korean won	1 322,63
ZAR	South African rand	17,1000
CNY	Chinese yuan renminbi	7,4212
HRK	Croatian kuna	7,5305
IDR	Indonesian rupiah	15 011,14
MYR	Malaysian ringgit	4,6108
PHP	Philippine peso	52,002
RUB	Russian rouble	74,0264
THB	Thai baht	39,669
BRL	Brazilian real	3,8760
MXN	Mexican peso	21,0672
INR	Indian rupee	75,6125

(1) Source: reference exchange rate published by the ECB.

		ISSN 1977-091X
Official Journal of the European Union		C 212

English edition	Information and Notices	Volume 59 14 June 2016

Notice No	Contents	page
	II Information
	INFORMATION FROM EUROPEAN UNION INSTITUTIONS, BODIES, OFFICES AND AGENCIES
	European Commission
2016/C 212/01	Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.8013 — PitPoint/Primagaz/PitPoint.LNG JV) ( 1 )	1
2016/C 212/02	Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.7941 — Saint-Gobain Glass France/Corning/JV) ( 1 )	1
2016/C 212/03	Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.8063 — Caixabank/Banco BPI) ( 1 )	2

	V Announcements
	PROCEDURES RELATING TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPETITION POLICY
	European Commission
2016/C 212/09	Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.7815 — Bouygues Group/ADP/Meridiam/Ravinala Airports) — Candidate case for simplified procedure ( 1 )	19

Country	Member	Alternate
Slovakia	Ms Miriam ŠPÁNIKOVÁ	Mr Peter MOLNÁR

	IV Notices
	NOTICES FROM EUROPEAN UNION INSTITUTIONS, BODIES, OFFICES AND AGENCIES
	Council
2016/C 212/04	Council Decision of 9 June 2016 appointing a member and an alternate member of the Advisory Committee for the Coordination of Social Security Systems for Slovakia	3
2016/C 212/05	Council conclusions of 30 May 2016 on developing media literacy and critical thinking through education and training	5
2016/C 212/06	Council conclusions on the role of Europeana for the digital access, visibility and use of European cultural heritage	9
2016/C 212/07	Conclusions of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, on enhancing integrity, transparency and good governance in major sport events	14
	European Commission
2016/C 212/08	Euro exchange rates	18


	(1) Text with EEA relevance