52001PC0584

Proposal for a DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL establishing the European Year of Education through Sport 2004

(presented by the Commission)

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

1. The social importance of sport

A third of Europe's citizens pursue a physical activity on a regular basis, making sport one of the most significant social phenomena in Europe in the 20th century. Sport also represents the best structured social fabric in European civil society and the existence of over 600 000 sporting clubs in Europe attests to the social importance of sport.

This development can be seen in terms of the number of persons practising a sport, interest among the public, its place in public policies, but also in terms of economic impact. From being a leisure activity pursued by most Community nationals, sport has become a major economic and social feature. The Member States of the European Union rank among the most powerful sporting powers in the world and the Community hosts an ever increasing number of sporting events. Sport is today a social phenomenon.

Against this background, sport is an ideal instrument at the service of all education policies and all education measures. Sport is an integral part of the teaching curriculum and itself contains essential educational values. It is a vehicle for learning the rules of life in society, and is conducive to integration within a group. It makes it easier to embrace values as such respect for others, partners and opponents alike, observance of rules, solidarity, a sense of endeavour, collective discipline and life as part of a group.

These educational values of sport and the need to safeguard them were recognised by the European Council meeting in Nice last December in the declaration concerning the uniqueness of sport and its social functions in Europe, which should be taken into consideration when implementing Community policies. The Council maintained that: "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".

2. Sport, a factor in education

Considering the extent to which it is embedded in society, sport is a factor which contributes to people's education. UNESCO has on many occasions stressed in its documents the need to associate sport and education curricula as it is an activity which contributes to the all-round development of the person, both in terms of his/her physical development and in cultivating social habits.

The Commission, in its report entitled "The concrete future objective of education systems" [1], identifies a series of education objectives for which association with physical activity and sport is particularly apposite. This primarily involves improving the training of teachers and trainers. A Commission study [2] has indeed shown the need to improve the preparation of teaching staff responsible for physical education (PE) and to better define its contents. A further point is that sport can become a major source of employment provided the skills of the human resources involved in this sector are strengthened and the training-employment relationship and the level of employability in the sports sector are improved.

[1] COM(2001) 59 final of 31.01.2001.

[2] Report on "Sport and employment" prepared by the European network of sports science institutes on behalf of the European Commission in September 1999.

The Helsinki report [3] on sport also gives fairly precise references to the educational potential of sport, pointing out that the Commission's "White Paper on education and training" [4] stresses that "knowledge is defined as an acquired corpus of fundamental and technical knowledge and social skills" that concern "relational skills, such as the ability to cooperate and work as part of a team, creativeness and the quest for quality", all of which are values conveyed by sport.

[3] COM(1999) 644 of 01.12.1999.

[4] "Teaching and learning -- towards the learning society", Commission White Paper on education and training, Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg, 1995.

Another objective pinpointed by the Commission is access to education and training at any time of life [5]. This objective entails making education systems more democratic so as to make them accessible to everyone. Learning through sport is a particularly apposite way of attaining these objectives, considering the way sport permeates society at all levels.

[5] Memorandum on lifelong learning (SEC (2000) 1832 of 30.10.2000).

Updating the definition of the basic skills needed for the learning society also features among the challenges to be met. The Commission [6] states that these skills also cover the "social or personal competences which enable people to work together and lead happy and fruitful lives". This is yet another area in which sport has a key role to play. It is a fact that the new technologies make people much more sedentary, and this leads to a decline in their personal physical capacity. Compounding the issue is that working with computers does indeed make it possible to establish contact with people in remote places, but the downside is that it also favours isolation and even the loss of the ability to work as part of a team or to accept the rules of life in society.

[6] "The concrete future objectives of education systems" (COM (2001) 59 of 31.01.2001).

Sports activities have a key role to play in opening up education to the local environment, to Europe and to the rest of the world. Opening up to the local environment would, for instance, make for better use of sports facilities by local teams, thus contributing to the establishment of a partnership between the world of education and sports clubs. The same is true of actions designed to promote mobility and exchanges. In the world of sport, there is a long tradition and experience of exchanges which could be used to increase exchanges between school pupils.

Lastly, sport is an invaluable instrument which contributes to attaining the objectives of the COMENIUS programme, i.e. to promote education in a multicultural framework, support disadvantaged groups, counter school failure and head off social exclusion.

Sport, it should be pointed out, is an excellent way of countering discrimination on grounds of sex or disability and of fighting against racism. It thus has a horizontal dimension which dovetails with the Community objectives of fighting against exclusion as defined in Article 13 of the Treaty. It is thus an excellent platform for social democracy, as was stressed by the Council of Europe.

3. Promoting the parallel education of young people and supporting voluntary activities

The Council, in its resolution of 17 December 1999 [7] noted that European youth-related programmes sought amongst other things to promote parallel education and accordingly acknowledged the merits of sport from the teaching point of view and as a factor for promoting active citizenship, participation, solidarity and tolerance.

[7] OJ C 8 of 12.01.2000.

The Council asked the Commission to devise, in conjunction with the Member States, actions to tap the potential of sport in parallel education. This invitation ties in with the findings of a study [8] conducted by the Commission and which stresses the comparatively low participation of young people in voluntary activities and associations. The study brings out the fact that the highest degree of participation is to be found in sports organisations, where it is far higher than that of participation in religious, political, trade union or youth organisations.

[8] "Study on the situation of young people and on youth policy in Europe" conducted by IARD for the European Commission, Milan, January 2001.

The Nice Declaration on the uniqueness of sport urges the Member States, supported when possible by the Community when this is compatible with its areas of responsibility, to encourage voluntary activities.

Sporting events and the day-to-day activities of sports organisations could make a bigger contribution to developing Europe-wide actions in the area of voluntary activities. As Europe is the continent which has the highest number of international competitions, this is something which could be used to create a stable partnership between sports organisations and schools in order to promote joint experiments in the voluntary sector as a factor of parallel education.

4. Aims of the European Year of Education through Sport

The European Council called upon the Community institutions to examine Community policies in the light of the declaration. Traditionally the Community has always considered sport from the strictly economic standpoint and few steps have been envisaged within the framework of Community policies. Yet in education it is possible to see clear links between sport and the aims of Community action in the area of education.

It is therefore important to encourage partnership between education organisations and sports organisations in order to take better advantage of the values conveyed through sport in the area of education and make better use of the opportunities offered by Community programmes and actions. Experiments are already being tried out sporadically under education programmes in conjunction with sports organisations. For instance:

- Sport/school pilot action in conjunction with three European Olympic committees in order to use Olympic values in school activities;

- Use of sports activities in second-chance schools, in view of their potential for achieving integration;

- Actions under the SOCRATES programme to promote mobility through school exchanges.

The point now is to flesh out and raise the profile of the opportunities offered in this area for sport/school cooperation. A European year - an extensive action within a limited period of time - is the solution best suited to the objectives in the initial stages. The outcome of the experience will enable the Commission to better prepare a proposal for Community action to follow up the Council Resolution [9].

[9] Ibid 7.

Furthermore, the 2004 Olympic Games are to be held in Athens, the cradle of the Olympic spirit. This will be a high profile opportunity to speak about sport and the need to restore the values of this activity, the image of which is currently tarnished by financial corruption and doping scandals and the threat of excessive commercialisation, factors which could well distort the real social and educational function of sport.

The objectives of the European Year of Education through Sport will therefore be:

(1) to make education and sports organisations aware of the need for cooperation, given the educational importance of sport as a social phenomenon and its great capacity to permeate all levels of society particularly amongst young people;

(2) to consider the use of the values conveyed through sport to develop the so-called basic educational skills whereby young people in particular can develop their physical prowess and also social competences such as working as part of a team, solidarity, tolerance and fair play;

(3) to stress the positive contribution of voluntary activity to parallel education, particularly that of young people, and to the development of the sporting movement;

(4) to promote mobility and pupil exchanges particularly in a multicultural environment and through the organisation of sporting and cultural contacts as part of school activity;

(5) to encourage reflection and discussion on what needs to be done to promote the social integration of the disadvantaged groups through sport in education;

(6) to encourage sport in the school curriculum in order to fight against the sedentary nature of the school population and thus contribute to improving pupils' physical wellbeing;

(7) to consider the problems relating to the education of young sportsmen and sportswomen concerned by ever earlier sporting careers.

The actions covering these objectives could focus inter alia on:

- the organisation of meetings and events, including opening and closing conferences;

- the organisation of voluntary actions on the occasion of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Athens;

- information and promotional campaigns to disseminate the educational values of sport;

- cooperation with the media;

- surveys and reports;

- events designed to provide information and, in particular, examples of good practice;

- the granting of financial support for transnational, national, regional or local initiatives to promote the objectives of the European Year of Education through Sport.

A detailed description of these measures is given in the annex.

The budget proposed for the European Year of Education through Sport is limited. Subject to the budgetary authority's final decision, a sum of EUR 11.500 million will be allocated to it for 2003 and 2004 at the European level. This budget, which will be used to drive a vast range of activities and the participation of numerous players, will be complemented by other initiatives by the Commission and the Member States. The success of the European year will therefore depend primarily on the resolve and the capacity of the local, regional and national players to take an active part in rallying people and organisations throughout the European Union.

With the assistance of specialist communication organisations, the Commission will fund and manage a coherent promotional campaign using all existing media.

The Commission will endeavour, in full respect of the regulatory framework, to organise regular structured exchanges of views with the sports organisations, the education organisations and the NGOs representing them, on the implementation of the European year.

An evaluation will be carried in 2005 in order to determine the actual impact of the European year and the lessons to be learnt for the future.

The European year will dovetail with and consolidate other Community actions, particularly with the programme on anti-discrimination and other actions to counter discrimination and social exclusion and to promote gender equality. The Commission will also seek to integrate questions relating to education through sport into European events scheduled for 2003. In addition, as part of other Community actions linked to the year, the Commission will attempt to carry forward the objectives of the European year, not only on the basis of the activities already in progress within its programmes, but also through specific initiatives adopted for the European year.

Lastly, the Commission will implement the European year by coordinating its activities closely with those carried out by other international organisations such as the Council of Europe and UNESCO.

5. Partnership, the key to success

In order to be effective and deliver tangible and lasting results, the European Year of Education through Sport must have the commitment of all the players concerned to provide active support. While the European Union can offer a framework of action in order to promote awareness on matters relating to education through sport, only widespread participation by the Member States and the sports organisations nationally can make real progress possible.

The good practices used in the Member States give them a substantial number of examples to reproduce or pursue as part of the European year, securing the participation of all the players concerned, particularly sports and education organisations. These practices concern amongst other things:

- the creation of a Community-wide task force bringing together representatives of the governments, the sports organisations, the education organisations and other significant elements from civil society;

- the setting up in each Member State of an extensive national forum to increase public awareness and interest, and secure contributions and long-term commitments for the European year. This forum could review the situation of education through sport at the national level, draft a long-term general policy declaration and adopt strategic targets. The forum will bring together the representatives of selected ministries, the national coordination committee, sports and education organisations, representatives of the professional organisations in education and sport, of the voluntary sector, groups of citizens and families. It could include legislators, representatives of the business sector and of European agencies or bodies;

- a drafting or updating of a long-term general policy declaration which would include the overall aims and essential principles and would provide the conceptual framework for the European year nationally;

- the establishment of extensive partnerships including non-traditional partnerships such as the media, and youth organisations and voluntary groups;

- decentralisation of the organisation of the activities of the European year in order to ensure that action is well targeted and is based on solid local knowhow.

There might be a case for inviting the applicant countries and the EFTA/EEA countries to consider undertaking the same commitment in order to provide active support for the European year.

6. Conclusions

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 rstore 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.

2001/0244 (COD)

Proposal for a DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 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 [10],

[10] OJ C ...

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee [11],

[11] OJ C ...

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions [12],

[12] OJ C ...

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty [13],

[13] OJ C ...

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 the representatives of the governments of the Member States meeting within the Council of 17 December 1999 on the educational dimension of sport considers that sporting activities can have a teaching value which contributes to strengthening civil society and calls upon the European Commission to devise, in conjunction with the Member States, a coherent approach to exploit the educational potential of sport.

(5) The European Parliament has adopted conclusions [14] confirming the opinion of the European Commission on the educational values of sport and stressing the importance of sporting activities in acquiring meaningful social values such as team spirit.

[14] OJ C 135 of 07.05.2001, p. 252.

(6) The European Parliament had also called upon the European Commission to propose the organisation of a European Year of Sport [15].

[15] OJ C 200 of 30.06.1997, p. 252.

(7) The Committee of the Regions noted in its opinion [16] on the Commission's consultation paper "The European model of sport" how important sport is in shaping the individual.

[16] COR 37/99 final of 15 and 16 September 1999.

(8) The Commission has, in its Helsinki report on sport [17], already examined the merits of using sport in education and youth-related matters given the values conveyed by sport.

[17] Ibid. 3.

(9) Commission documents on lifelong learning [18] and on the future objectives of education systems [19] contain specific references to the added value that sports-based action can provide for the purposes of improving the quality of teaching.

[18] Ibid. 5.

[19] Ibid. 6.

(10) Physical activity alone or as part of a team is the ideal way to offset the use of new technologies and its characteristic feature of sedentary and solitary work.

(11) Careers in sport are starting increasingly early, the consequences for the young persons involved being disruption to their studies.

(12) Sport makes it easier for people to move around and encourages multicultural exchanges. However, The opportunities in this area have not yet been fully exploited by education and academic organisations.

(13) The 2004 Olympic Games in Athens will be very emblematic and have a high media profile. This must be used to open up sport and make it accessible to all citizens so that it can contribute to strengthening education policies. Other major sporting events such as the EURO 2004 football tournament in Portugal will also provide an opportunity to put the year's message across even more strongly.

(14) Raising awareness of the educational values of sport is essentially a question of effective action at national level in the Member States and this must be complemented by concerted efforts at the European level. The European year can thus serve as a catalyst to raise public awareness and bring dynamism to this action.

(15) Consistency and complementarity with other Community action are essential, particularly in the areas of countering discrimination and social exclusion and in promoting education, training, human rights and gender equality.

(16) The agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA) provides for more extensive cooperation in the areas of education and youth between the European Community and its Member States and also with the countries of the European Free Trade Area participating in the European Economic Area (EFTA/EEA).

(17) The European year should be opened up to the participation of the applicant countries in central and eastern Europe in line with the conditions laid down in the Europe Agreements, in their additional protocols and in the decisions of the relevant association councils. For Cyprus, this participation will 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 Treaty.

(18) 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 [20] of 6 May 1999 on budgetary discipline and improvement of the budgetary procedure.

[20] OJ C 172 of 18.06.1999, p. 1.

(19) In accordance with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, as defined in Article 5 of the Treaty, the aims of the action proposed cannot be attained to a sufficient degree by the Member States acting on their own for reasons, which include the need for multilateral partnerships, transnational exchange of information and Community-wide dissemination of good practice. This decision does not go beyond what is necessary to attain those aims.

HAVE DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1 Proclamation of the European Year of Education through Sport

The year 2004 shall be proclaimed "European Year of Education through Sport".

Article 2 Aims

The aims of the European Year of Education through Sport shall be:

1. to make education and sports organisations aware of the need for cooperation, given the educational importance of sport as a social phenomenon and its great capacity to permeate all levels of society particularly amongst young people;

2. to consider the use of the values conveyed through sport to develop the so-called basic educational skills whereby young people in particular can develop their physical prowess and also social competences such as working as part of a team, solidarity, tolerance and fair play;

3. to use the positive contribution of voluntary activity to parallel education, particularly that of young people, and to the development of the sporting movement;

4. to promote the educational value of pupil mobility and exchanges particularly in a multicultural environment and through the organisation of sporting and cultural contacts as part of school activity;

5. to encourage reflection and discussion on what needs to be done to promote the social integration of the disadvantaged groups through sport in education;

6. to encourage sport in the school curriculum in order to fight against the sedentary nature of the school population and thus contribute to improving pupils' physical wellbeing;

7. to consider the problems relating to the education of young sportsmen and sportswomen concerned by ever earlier sporting careers.

Article 3 Content of the measures

1. The measures taken to attain the objectives set out in Article 2 include the organisation of the following activities or the granting of support for these activities:

a) meetings and events, including opening and closing conferences;

b) voluntary actions during the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Athens;

c) information and promotional campaigns to disseminate the educational values of sport;

d) cooperation with the media;

e) surveys and studies;

f) events designed to provide information and, in particular, examples of good practice;

g) financial support for transnational, national, regional or local initiatives to promote the objectives of the European Year of Education through Sport.

2. A detailed description of the measures set out in paragraph 1 is given in the annex.

Article 4 Implementation of the Decision and cooperation with the Member States

1. The Commission will be responsible for ensuring that the Community actions conducted pursuant to this Decision are implemented.

2. Each country will designate one or more appropriate bodies to be responsible for organising the country's participation in the European year, and for coordinating the action envisaged at national level; these bodies will assist in the selection procedure described in Article 7.

Article 5 Financial arrangements

1. Measures which are Community-wide in nature, as described in Part A of the annex, may be subsidised up to a maximum of 80% of the total cost from the general budget of the European Communities.

2. Measures which are local, regional, national or transnational in nature, as described in Part B of the annex, may be co-financed from the general budget of the European Communities up to a maximum of 50% of the total cost.

Article 6 Application and selection procedure

1. Applications for co-financing of actions from the Community budget under Article 5(2) shall be submitted to the Commission by the body/bodies referred to in Article 4(2). Applications must include information making it possible to assess the outcomes using objective criteria. The Commission will take the utmost account of the evaluation provided by the bodies concerned.

2. Decisions on the financing and co-financing of measures under Article 5 shall be taken by the Commission after obtaining the opinion of a group of experts. The Commission shall ensure a balanced distribution among the different fields of activity involved.

3. The Commission (in particular through its national or regional contact points) shall, in conjunction with the bodies referred to in Article 4(2), ensure that the calls for proposals are published in good time and distributed as widely as possible.

Article 7 Consistency and complementarity

1. The Commission, in cooperation with the Member States, shall ensure consistency between the measures provided for in this Decision and other Community actions and initiatives.

2 It shall also ensure optimal complementarity between the European Year of Education through Sport and other existing Community, national and regional initiatives and resources, where these can contribute to fulfilling the objectives of the European Year of Education through Sport.

Article 8 Participation by the EFTA/EEA, countries, the associated countries of central and eastern Europe, Cyprus, Malta and Turkey

The European Year of Education through Sport shall be open to participation:

- by the EFTA/EEA countries in accordance with the conditions established in the EEA Agreement.

- by the candidate countries of central and eastern Europe in accordance with the conditions established in the Europe Agreements, in their additional protocols and in the decisions of the respective Association Councils.

- by Cyprus, whose participation shall be funded by additional appropriations in accordance with procedures to be agreed with that country;

- by Malta and Turkey, whose participation shall be funded by additional appropriations in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty.

Article 9 Budget

1. The financial framework for the implementation of this Decision is EUR 11.5 million (of which EUR 8 million will be allocated to 2004 and EUR 3.5 million to 2003 in order to prepare the launching of this Year from the 1st January 2003).

2. The annual appropriations will be authorised by the budgetary authority within the limits of the financial perspective.

3. At the Commission's initiative, funding may also be provided for the period 2004 for technical and administrative expenditure provided to the Commission and to the beneficiaries of the action alike, and not part of the permanent tasks under public service, and related to the identification, preparation, management, follow-up, audit and monitoring of the measures.

Article 10 International cooperation

The Commission may cooperate with appropriate international organisations for the purposes of the European Year of Education Through Sport.

Article 11 Monitoring and evaluation

The Commission shall submit, by 31 December 2005 at the latest, a report to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the implementation, results and overall assessment of the measures provided for in this Decision.

Article 12 Entry into force

This Decision shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

Done at Brussels,

For the European Parliament For the Council

The President The President

ANNEX

Nature of the measures referred to in Article 3

(A) Action at Community level

1. Meetings and events:

(a) organisation of meetings at Community level;

(b) organisation of events to raise awareness on education through sport, including the conferences to open and close the European Year of Education Through Sport;

(c) voluntary actions on the occasion of the 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Athens and of other major sporting events in the Community.

2. Information and promotional campaigns involving:

(a) the development of a logo and of slogans for the European Year of Education through Sport, for use in connection with any activity linked to the year;

(b) an information campaign on a Community-wide scale;

(c) the production of tools and aids accessible to people throughout the Community;

(d) appropriate initiatives by European organisations active in the education and sports areas aimed at disseminating information on the European Year of Education Through Sport;

(e) the organisation of European competitions highlighting achievements and experiences on the themes of the European Year of Education through Sport.

3. Other actions:

(a) Cooperation with broadcasting and media organisations as partners for spreading the information about the European Year of Education Through Sport, for using new tools allowing easier access to this information (such as voice subtitling for the hearing impaired and images description for the visually impaired), and to other programmes if possible, and for improving communication about education through sport;

(b) Surveys and studies on a Community-wide scale, including a series of questions intended to:

(c) help to attain the objectives mentioned in Article 2;

(d) assess the impact of the European Year of Education through Sport, to be included in a Eurobarometer survey and an evaluation report on the effectiveness and impact of the European year.

4. This funding may be in the form of:

(a) the direct purchase of goods and services, in particular in the field of communication, surveys and studies, via open and/or restricted calls for tenders;

(b) subsidies allocated to cover the expenses of special events at European level to highlight and raise awareness of the European Year of Education through Sport; such funding shall not exceed 80% of the total cost.

(B) Action at national level

Depending on the nature and content proposed, local, regional, national or transnational actions may qualify for aid from the Community covering up to a maximum of 50% of the total cost. These actions could, for instance, include:

1. events connected with the objectives of the European Year of Education through Sport, including an event to launch the year;

2. information campaigns and measures to disseminate examples of good practice, other than those mentioned in Part A above;

3. the organisation of awards or competitions;

4. surveys and studies other than those mentioned in Part A above.

(C) Action for which no financial aid from the Community budget is available

The Community will offer its moral support, including written authorisation to use the logo and other materials associated with the European Year of Education through Sport, for initiatives undertaken by public or private organisations, where those organisations can satisfy the Commission that the initiatives involved are or will be in progress during the year 2004 and are likely to contribute significantly to achieving one or more of the objectives of the European Year of Education through Sport.

FINANCIAL FINANCIAL STATEMENT

Policy area: Education and culture

Activity: Audiovisual policy and sport

Title of action: European Year of Education through Sport 2004

1. BUDGET LINE + HEADING

- New budget line B3-1004.

- European Year of Education through Sport.

- This line will be applied in conjunction with another, line B3-1004A, for administrative support expenditure.

2. OVERALL FIGURES

2.1 Total allocation for action (Part B):

EUR11.5 million in commitment appropriations (EUR3.5 million and EUR8 million in 2004)

2.2 Period of application:

1 January 2003 to 31 December 2004 (2003 being a preparatory year).

2.3 Overall multiannual estimate of expenditure:

a) Schedule of commitment appropriations/payment appropriations (financial intervention) (see point 6.1.1)

EURmillion (to 3rd decimal place)

>TABLE POSITION>

b) Technical and administrative assistance and support expenditure (see point 6.1.2)

>TABLE POSITION>

>TABLE POSITION>

c) Overall financial impact of human resources and other administrative expenditure (see points 7.2 and 7.3)

>TABLE POSITION>

>TABLE POSITION>

2.4 Compatibility with the financial programming and the financial perspective

|X| Proposal compatible with the existing financial programming

2.5 Financial impact on revenue

|X| No financial implications (involves technical aspects regarding implementation of a measure)

3. BUDGET CHARACTERISTICS

>TABLE POSITION>

4. LEGAL BASIS

- Article 149 of the Treaty establishing the European Community

- Council Decision No .../.../EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of ..., on the European Year of Education through Sport

5. DESCRIPTION AND GROUNDS

5.1 Need for Community intervention

5.1.1 Objectives pursued

Sport is an excellent educational instrument offering an opportunity to strike a better balance between the learning of technical skills on the one hand and that of social skills on the other. Education systems indeed face the risk of a lack of balance caused by an education over-focused on the new technologies, which would be detrimental to the overall education of the person. Yet the image of sport had been tarnished, as stressed in the Commission's Helsinki report [21] by problems stemming from over-commercialisation, doping and violence.

[21] COM(1999) 644 of 01.12.1999.

Experts are moreover unanimous in putting forward sport as an excellent way of developing parallel education for the development of the citizen. The way sport permeates society enables sporting activities to convey a series of educational values, as has been recognised by the European Council, the Council and the European Parliament, who called upon the Commission to consider the educational merits of sport within the Community responsibilities in the area of education and youth. A stronger school/sport partnership is therefore needed and in order to achieve this it is essential to first re-establish the credibility of sporting activities as an educational instrument.

The aims of the action can be broken down as follows:

- show the citizens of Europe that as well as being something to be enjoyed by spectators sport is a first-rate educational instrument, not only by its physical dimension, but also by the social values it conveys;

- make European society and education circles aware of the need to improve the physical condition and the social habits of students in Europe, thus offsetting excessively technical learning and sedentary habits;

- prompt the Community's educational and sports organisations to develop broader partnership in order to better integrate physical activity and the values conveyed by sport in education;

- prove to European society that the Community is interested in the social and educational dimension of sport and not only its economic dimension.

Given that the objective to be attained first involves making the people of Europe more aware of how important sport is in education, the best approach would seem to be to organise a European year which is likely to have a major impact. The fact that 2004 will also be the year the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Athens will offer an opportunity to exploit the media coverage of the Games and to show the people of Europe the social face of sport and its added value as a factor capable of helping to improve education.

The organisation of a European year -- an ambitious action but limited in time -- is an instrument which is particularly suited to Community action in that its objective will be primarily to allow better use to be made of the educational values of sport in improving curricula, and particularly parallel education, by establishing a broader partnership between education organisations and sports organisations.

The actions envisaged will seek to:

- promote partnership between schools and sports organisations;

- use youth voluntary activities as an instrument to improve education;

- serve as the basis for the preparation of subsequent Community action in the area of sports;

- assess the impact amongst the people of Europe of action taken as part of the year in order to analyse the action from the communication point of view and particularly the association of certain messages with major sporting events.

5.1.2 Measures taken in connection with ex ante evaluation

The ex ante evaluation was conducted between February 2001 and June 2001 by the Commission. Once the choice of European year had been validated, information was gathered from within the Commission (evaluations of the Socrates and Youth programmes and those relating to the European Year against Racism and Lifelong Learning). The evaluation considered the experience of the department responsible for managing the European Year of Languages.

As regards communication and relations with sports organisations, the evaluation also considered the report the Commission had drawn up in 1992 on the experience of the Community presence at the Albertville and Barcelona Olympics.

As to the justification for Community-level action, it has to be said that sport is undoubtedly the best organised social sector at this level. Hardly any other cultural or educational network has built up permanent European structures. Its activities furthermore have a European dimension thus permitting the mobility of those practising sport. Taking action on education through sport thus virtually automatically means action at the Community level, given the organisational configuration of the various partners concerned.

The evaluation also highlights the need to act within a partnership:

- essentially a partnership between the education and sports organisations at the national and European levels,

- but also a partnership between the institutions, states and media in order to raise public awareness as to the educational values of sport,

- and, lastly, a partnership between the various tiers of public administration as a precondition for the year to be a success.

The following steps have been decided on the organisational front:

- in 2002 preparation of the specifications for the main communication actions so as to be operational as of 1 January 2003 and to be in a position to launch communication and image actions as of 1 January 2004;

- drafting in 2002 the texts of the calls for proposal in order to ensure that actions can be organised in the early months of 2004;

- ensuring that the funding procedure for the actions envisaged do not generate an excessive administrative workload with which the department responsible would be unable to cope and which would severely hamper the progress of the year;

- give priority to actions with a real communication dimension and capable of reaching very substantial tiers of the population and at the same time of testing the effectiveness of the practical arrangements for subsequent proposals.

5.1.3 Measures taken following ex-post evaluation

In accordance with Article 14 of this Decision the Commission will submit, by 31 December 2005 at the latest, a report to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, on the implementation, results and overall assessment of the European Year of Education through Sport.

5.2 Actions envisaged and arrangements for budget intervention

5.2.1 Target population

The European Year of Education through Sport will focus primarily on direct communication to the general public of the advantages of using sport to improve our education systems. This project is intended for everyone resident in the European Union irrespective of age and social origin. As part of this objective, the information campaigns and material will vary as a function of the specific subgroup targeted. These subgroups could include, for instance:

- school pupils;

- pupils' parents ;

- education staff;

- those holding positions of responsibility in educational organisations;

- those holding positions of responsibility in sports organisations;

- educational and sport organisations in frontier areas.

5.2.2 Specific aims

The specific aims and outcome indicators are as follows:

- creation of stable partnership networks of education and sports organisations at the Community and national levels in order to promote the use of sport in schools, the aim being to create at least one partnership network per country along with a European network;

- organisation of actions of education through voluntary service on the occasion of the 2004 Athens Olympic and Paralympic Games, and other major sporting events organised in the Community, the aim being to get as many young people as possible involved and provide them with appropriate training;

- organisation of actions of education through voluntary service at cross-border and/or national level, whereby the opportunities provided by this type of activity can be put to the test;

- promotion of educational exchange programmes making greater use of physical activity as the driving element of the exchange, but allowing for combination at the same time with other activities such as cultural activities; the number of exchanges per country will be the indicator;

- preparation of support activities for young sportspersons involved in top level competition in order to provide them with an appropriate level of education compatible with the development of their sporting careers; the number of actions undertaken in each country will provide a yardstick for the effectiveness of this action.

5.2.3 Action to be taken

The action to be taken will include:

1. Meetings and events:

(a) organisation of meetings;

(b) organisation of events to raise awareness on education through sport, including the conferences to open and close the year.

2. Information and promotional campaigns including the creation of a web site and the production of information material.

3. Cooperation with broadcasting and media organisations as partners for spreading the information about the year, for using new tools allowing easier access to this information (such as voice subtitling for the hearing impaired and images description for the visually impaired), and to other programmes if possible, and for improving communication about education through sport;

4. Surveys and studies on a Community-wide scale, including a series of questions intended to:

(a) help to attain the objectives mentioned in Article 2 of the Decision;

(b) assess the impact of the European Year of Education through Sport, to be included in a Eurobarometer survey and an evaluation report on the effectiveness and impact of the European year.

5. Arrangements for volunteers to be present at the 2004 Athens Olympic and Paralympic Games and at other Community, national and cross-border events.

This funding may be in the form of:

- the direct purchase of goods and services, in particular in the field of communication, via calls for tenders;

- subsidies allocated to cover the expenses of special events at European level to highlight and raise awareness of the year; such funding shall not exceed 80% of the total cost of these events.

6. Depending on the nature and content proposed, local, regional, national or transnational actions may quality for aid from the Community covering up to 50% of their total costs.

7. The Community will offer its moral support, including written authorisation to use the logo and other materials associated with the European year, for initiatives undertaken by public or private organisations, where those organisations can satisfy the Commission that the initiatives involved are or will be in progress during the year 2004 and are likely to contribute significantly to achieving one or more of the objectives of the European year.

5.3 Implementation

The year will be managed directly by the Commission. The Commission will have regular exchanges of views with government organisations and NGOs representing the education and sports environments.

6. FINANCIAL IMPACT

6.1 Total financial impact on Part B (over the entire programming period)

6.1.1 Financial intervention

Commitment appropriations in EURmillion (to the 3rd decimal place)

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6.1.2 Technical and administrative assistance (TAA), support expenditure (SE) and IT expenditure (commitment appropriations)

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The support expenditure consists essentially of a contribution from the European year to the funding of the executive agency envisaged to provide technical assistance for implementing programmes in the area of education and culture. A sum has, moreover, been earmarked for auditing projects funded as part of the year.

6.2. Calculation of costs by measure envisaged in Part B (over the entire programming period)

Commitment appropriations in million euro (to the 3rd decimal place)

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6.2.1 Community-wide measures

Such action will usually be prompted by the Commission after obtaining the opinion of a group of experts. Most action will be contracted out following calls for tender and fully financed from the Community budget. Other action will be supported by the Community budget up to 80% of its maximum total cost provided that it contributes significantly to achieving the objectives of the European year.

- Meetings and events

It would be reasonable to expect that if the themes of the European year are to become known to a majority of European citizens and make a lasting impact in their minds, the year should include at least four high-profile, Community-wide events at different locations throughout the Community -- one each to mark the opening and closing of the year, and two thematic events at regular intervals in between.

Each event can be expected to cost at least EUR0.2 million once organisational costs and the reimbursement of expenses for a significant number of participants invited by the Commission (around 200) are taken into account. Total for four actions: EUR0.9 million.

- Community-wide promotional and information campaigns; EUR3.0 million as follows:

- design and promotional items: EUR0.4 million

- strategic advice, media relations, design and production of information material for printed, audiovisual and electronic media, setting up of a hotline, design and management of Internet site: EUR0.8 million

- use of other means, inter alia to liaise with the players concerned through programmes of advice exchange between peers, including assistance in the organisation of competitions and events, promotion of the European Year of Education through Sport at European and international fairs and sports events, and in obtaining sponsorship and moral support: EUR0.3 million

- grants to European organisations to cover the cost of specialised events organised at European level in order to publicise the year and raise awareness amongst the public; this financing may not exceed 80% of the total maximum cost (EUR1.5 million).

- Cooperation with the media: EUR0.080 million to be covered from the budget for the preparatory year 2003.

- Surveys and studies: EUR0.520 million, including EUR0.370 million from the preparatory budget.

A study by a high-level group on "The policy prospects for education through sport" will require EUR0.120 million.

A study on "Education and occupational integration for top-level sportsmen and sportswomen" will require EUR0.250 million.

There will be a report to evaluate the effectiveness and the impact of the European year (EUR0.01). In order to measure the impact of the year on the general public, specific questions will be included in a Eurobarometer survey aimed at determining, for example, how many people heard about the year, how many people thought the year modified their views, etc.: EUR0.05 million.

- Action focussing on education through voluntary activities on the occasion of the 2004 Athens Olympic and Paralympic Games.

In the light of experience from the soccer World Cup in France, a sum of EUR0.75 million needs to be earmarked for this purpose.

6.2.2 Nation-wide action

While the European Union can provide a framework for action to promote awareness of the educational importance of sport, at the same time, it must be recognised that much of the progress will have to be achieved by a strong commitment from the Member States.

Such action can be financed up to 50% from the Community budget. It will be designed to act in synergy with the Community-wide action described above, creating a structure whereby larger and smaller-scale measures will share the same objectives and contribute to each other's success.

It will also be necessary, if a sufficiently high profile for the year is to be achieved, to organise launch events in all Member States except the one organising the Community-level launch event (see under "Community-wide action"), with finance provided by the Commission. The average Community contribution to the organisational cost of these events is estimated at EUR35.000 per Member State. All of this funding will need to be committed from the preparatory year budget, given that the national launch events will need to be prepared from mid-2003 and held very early in 2004. The Community contribution to their funding will largely take the form of advance payments. For the other national actions, the figures proposed take account of the lessons learnt from previous European years.

6.2.3 Action for which no financial aid from the Community budget is available (set out in Part 1(C) of the Annex to the draft Decision)

- There is significant potential to further the objectives of the European year at little or no cost, by giving permission for the logo and other material associated with the year to be used by organisations involved in initiatives consistent with the objectives.

7. IMPACT ON STAFF AND ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENDITURE

7.1 Impact on human resources

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7.2 Overall financial impact of human resources

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The "other human resources" (3 auxiliaries) are not foreseen for 2004 as this year is covered by the legal base and by the existence of a budget line, B3-1004A, which will allow the administrative support to be assured by the executive agency foreseen to assist in putting into operation programmes in the field of education and culture. Only 1.5 years (2003 and six months of 2005) need to be financed from the global envelope for administrative credits. In the event that an executive agency is not available, the necessary support will have to be assured in 2004 as well, in the form of 3 auxiliaries.

The human and administrative resources requirements will be covered by the appropriations allocated to the managing DG in the framework of the annual allocation procedure.

7.3 Other operational expenditure arising from the action

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The amounts correspond to the total expenditure of the action for the two years 2003 and 2004.

I. Annual total (7.2 + 7.3)

II. Duration of the action

III. Total cost of the action (I x II) // EUR0.761

2.5 years

EUR1.903

8. MONITORING AND EVALUATION

8.1 Monitoring system

The point of the year being to get education and sports organisations interested, as a partnership, in education through sport, monitoring and evaluation are naturally an integral part of the activities implemented, in order to derive maximum benefit from them.

The year will be monitored throughout the duration of the operation. In addition, national actions will be implemented under the auspices of a national coordination body on the basis of a programme of work to be approved by the Commission.

8.2 Arrangements and schedule for the planned evaluation

The year will be subject to a final evaluation due to be submitted by 31 December 2005. This evaluation will be performed by external evaluators and will start at the beginning of the year. The evaluation framework will focus primarily on effectiveness, efficiency and relevance of the year, including in terms of changes in attitudes. Additionally, what the year has achieved will also be measured through a Eurobarometer survey to be conducted in 2005 with the aim of measuring the extent to which the message of the year got across to the general public.

9. ANTI-FRAUD MEASURES

All contracts, agreements and legal undertakings entered into by the Commission and the beneficiaries provide for in situ checks and anti-fraud controls to be carried out on the premises of beneficiaries of a Community grant by the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and bestow the power to require evidence of any expenditure made under such contracts, agreements and legal undertakings within five years following the end of the contract period. Beneficiaries are subject to reporting and financial accounting obligations, and these are analysed from the point of view of content and eligibility of expenditure, bearing in mind the purpose of Community funding and taking account of contractual obligations and of the principles of economy and sound financial management.

Appended to the financial agreements is information of an administrative and financial nature intended to specify the type of expenditure which is eligible under such agreements. Where appropriate, Community coverage of certain cost elements will be limited to items which are real, identifiable and verifiable in the beneficiary's accounts, so as to facilitate checking and auditing (and evaluation for selection purposes) of projects being funded.