5.1. Structured dialogue

The world of sport and its organisation in Europe is based on very diverse structures. This complexity is mirrored by a large number and different types of organisations and bodies active in the field of sport at various levels. Moreover, there is heterogeneity within the EU as regards the status of these actors, their legal nature and the autonomy they enjoy as well as their financial and staff-related capacity to participate in a dialogue at EU level. Unlike in other sectors and due to the very nature of organised sport, European structures in sport are, generally, less well developed than sport structures at national and international levels. European sport, moreover, is not organised according to EU-27 but according to continental structures which usually have a wider membership. Ensuring, however, that European decision-making takes account of the specificities of the sector, while at the same time guaranteeing the maintenance of the autonomy of sport, its self-regulation and self-organisation, has increasingly become an issue of concern within organised sport.

The Commission has an important role to play in contributing to the European debate on sport by providing a platform for dialogue with sport stakeholders. Wide consultation with “interested parties” is one of the Commission’s duties according to the Treaties. In the field of sport, the Commission is seeking ways to improve the structured dialogue with sport stakeholders under the current Treaty provisions with the aim of ensuring that the voice of sport is heard in an appropriate way in EU policy-making.

The structured dialogue between the Commission and the European sport movement has taken different forms in the past. The most important and broadest platform for debate and exchange on European sport issues was the European Sport Forum, organised by the Commission, which brought together all kinds of European actors in sport, mostly non-governmental but also governmental representatives. The Forum was organised four times between 2000 and 2003.[1] It was appreciated by many as a “place to meet and to exchange views” and proved to be useful after the Council’s adoption of the Nice Declaration in 2000, in particular with a view to preparing EYES 2004. However, the Commission abandoned this form of dialogue in 2004, when the efficiency of the Forum in terms of concrete outcomes was increasingly called into question.

In spring 2005, in order to prepare for the implementation of the reference to sport in the results of the 2004 Intergovernmental Conference, the Commission set up the dialogue framework “The EU & Sport: Matching Expectations”. The debates that have been organised within this framework were related to the priority items of the political Rolling Agenda for Sport, adopted by EU Sport Ministers in 2004. This was to ensure a parallelism of the substantial discussions on sport between governmental and non-governmental stakeholders. This framework has meanwhile served as a consultation forum for preparing the White Paper on Sport.

The Commission has increasingly focused on European dialogue partners. Apart from organising debates with the broader European sport movement (representatives of federations, organisations, NGOs, media, industry, think tanks, regions etc.), the Commission has organised a series of annual high-level meetings with European sport federations. Representatives from the sport movement also participated in the Commission’s expert meetings on particular issues of the Rolling Agenda. At the same time, doors have remained open for bilateral discussions with interested parties, in an effort to give all sport stakeholders a voice.

Due to the variety and complexity of the sport movement, it is a challenging task to ensure a well-structured and inclusive dialogue with the sport movement at EU level and to match the numerous and often diverging interests. There are different dimensions to be taken into account:

• The "single sport" perspective (e.g. national, European and international federations and leagues);
• The "country" perspective (e.g. national umbrella organisations and their European umbrella organisation);
• The Olympic and Paralympic movement perspective (e.g. national, European and International Olympic and Paralympic committees);
• Other actors and lobby groups at European level;
• The "wider Europe" perspective (e.g. Council of Europe).

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5.2. Cooperation with Member States

In view of the lack of an explicit EU competence for sport, the main responsibility for sporting matters lies with Member States and sport organisations. The European Council’s Nice Declaration of 2000 confirms this division of roles and the principle of subsidiarity, while calling on the EU to take sport increasingly into account in its policy-making.

As a consequence, political cooperation on sport at EU level continues to take place in an informal framework, outside the formal Council structures. It is up to individual EU Presidencies to decide upon the organisation of informal EU Sport Ministers and EU Sport Directors meetings and to set the agenda for the debates. In recent years, Sport Directors' meetings have taken place regularly during each Presidency, but not all Presidencies have organised ministerial meetings.

In 2004 EU Sport Ministers, upon a proposal by the Commission, adopted a Rolling Agenda for sport. The Rolling Agenda defined the priority themes for Member State discussions on sport at EU level, serving as an inventory of items relating to sport on the EU agenda and enabling Member States, Presidencies and the Commission to determine priorities for future work.[2] The Rolling Agenda has ensured more coherence and continuity of the debates under the subsequent Presidencies. The Commission cooperates closely with each Presidency in preparing the programme for sport.

The Commission also organised a series of meetings with mainly governmental experts on priority subjects[3] in 2005 and 2006, which allowed for progress on the Rolling Agenda.

As a consequence of these debates and with regard to the priorities set by different Presidencies, Sport Ministers agreed on the need to strengthen cooperation in certain areas beyond the Sport Ministers' and Directors' meetings through the establishment of EU Working Groups involving a core group of interested Member States:

• A Working Group on “Sport & Health” set up in 2005 under the UK Presidency,
• A Working Group on “Sport & Economics” set up in 2006 under the Austrian Presidency, and
• A Working Group on “Non-profit sport organisations” set up in 2006 under the Finnish Presidency.

These Working Groups are chaired by the Commission, usually meet in Brussels and report to the Sport Directors.

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5.3. Social dialogue

European social dialogue is a unique and indispensable component of the European social model. It refers to the discussions, consultations, negotiations and joint actions undertaken by the social partner organisations representing the two sides of industry (management and labour). It is a useful means by which the social partners assist in the definition of European employment and social standards, and play an important role in the governance of the Union.

Article 138 of the Treaty gives the Commission the role to promote social dialogue, gives recognition to social dialogue at European level and obliges the Commission to consult the European social partners before submitting proposals in the social policy field. Article 139 offers the possibility to negotiate agreements that can be implemented either in accordance with the procedures and practices specific to management and labour and the Member States, or by Council decisions for areas that are listed in Article 137.

Through its decision of 20 May 1998 (98/500/EC)[4], the Commission established sectoral social dialogue committees at European level. The sectoral social dialogue committees are established with due regard for the autonomy of the social partners. The social partner organisations must apply jointly to the European Commission in order to take part in social dialogue at European level. The European organisations representing employers and workers must, when submitting this application, meet a number of criteria:

• Relate to specific sectors or categories, and be organised at European level;
• Consist of organisations which are themselves an integral and recognised part of Member States' social partner structures, and have the capacity to negotiate agreements, and which are representative of several Member States;
• Have adequate structures to ensure their effective participation in the work of the committees.

There are currently 34 sectoral social dialogue committees recognised by the Commission, but there is neither a committee for sport nor for a part of the sport sector.

The roots of the sport movement in non-profit organisations and in volunteering have slowed down the emergence of social partners in the sport sector in most Member States. Increasing professionalisation has, however, led to the emergence of social dialogue and collective bargaining in a number of Member States.[5]

On the occasion of the agreement between UEFA and FIFA with the Commissioners in charge of competition, sport and social affairs concerning the revised FIFA rules relating to the international transfers of football players in 2001, the Commissioners invited FIFA and UEFA to encourage clubs to start or pursue social dialogue with the representative bodies of football players. They stressed that social dialogue could be an effective method to discuss and come to common solutions on important matters concerning employment and the social situation in the sector. Furthermore, they offered the Commission's assistance to social dialogue at European level.

Ever since, the Commission has been supporting projects for the consolidation of social dialogue in the sport sector globally as well as specifically in the football sector.[6] These projects have created a momentum for social dialogue at European level and the consolidation of European-level organisations. They have also improved the understanding and awareness of the opportunities that social dialogue offers.

In the sport sector, they have helped in setting up the European Association of Sport Employers (EASE) that continues to identify suitable national employers' organisations in the sector, in co-operation with UNI-Europa, which represents employees in the services sector in several existing European Social Dialogue Committees. In the football sector, the international professional football players’ trade union, FIFPro, has run several projects with the objective of setting up a European social dialogue in the football sector. The EPFL (Association of European Professional Football Leagues) has been given the mandate to consider social dialogue issues at European level and where appropriate act as a social partner.

Articles 138 and 139 of the Treaty give recognition to the dialogue between management and labour at Community level. In the sport sector, federations play traditionally a specific role in the organisation of sport. Given that they are the guardians of the sporting rules and that their statutes often mention that they represent the interests of both employees and employers, it is essential to identify genuine social partner organisations that have the mandate to represent one side of industry only and negotiate on its behalf.

In many Member States, social partner organisations in the sport sector are fragmented and display a low level of organisation. EU enlargement to countries with relatively weak industrial relations structures has reinforced the challenge. In several Member States, however, social partner organisations are well established and many athletes’ organisations belong to a service or cross-industry trade union. Hence, it is important to offer continued and targeted support for the consolidation of representative European social partners.

The sports sector is very diverse. Some disciplines have their own industrial relations. Moreover, important differences can be noted between grassroots and elite-level sport, professional and amateur sport, and team and individual sport. The football sector, specifically, has often taken the lead in initiatives on social dialogue in Europe.

In the light of a growing number of challenges to sport governance, social dialogue at European level can create an added value:

• A European social dialogue gives the opportunity to address issues of employment relations and the social situation in the sector as well as to negotiate agreements in accordance with EU and national law and with the autonomy that is a characteristic of both social dialogue and of European sport.
• A European sectoral social dialogue committee can be a forum of exchange and mutual learning that initiates its own activities and commissions analyses and research in the sector.
• The Commission consults the European social partners on matters pertaining to employment and social affairs and they can make sure that their views are heard by agreeing joint declarations and joint statements.
• Some parts of the sport labour market are very integrated at the European, if not the international, level. A European social dialogue gives the opportunity to address matters of common interest to all national employers' and athletes' organisations. This is complementary to national social dialogue.
• At a stage when social partner organisations and social dialogue at national level are not consolidated in all Member States, a European social dialogue can provide an incentive to engage also in a social dialogue at national level.

The Commission encourages and welcomes all efforts with the objective of establishing one or more European Social Dialogue Committees in the sport sector. It will continue to give support to both sides of industry and it will continue its open dialogue with all sport organisations on this issue.
The support that the Member States should make available for capacity building and joint actions of social partners through the European Social Fund in the convergence regions[7] should also be used for capacity-building of the social partners in the sport sector.

In line with the principle of autonomy, the social partners can choose if and when to address a joint request to set up a sectoral social dialogue committee to the Commission. It will examine any request according to the conditions laid out above. Taking into account the specificity of the sport structure, social partner organisations could identify relevant third bodies that they want to invite to take part in their social dialogue as observers. It should be kept in mind that a European social dialogue is, above all, a bi-partite dialogue between social partners.

It is difficult to predetermine the form social dialogue in the sport sector should take. The Commission will examine any request to set up a sectoral social dialogue committee in a pragmatic manner.

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[1] Forum 2000 - Lille; Forum 2001 - Brussels; Forum 2002 - Copenhague; Forum 2004 - Verona.
[2] The Rolling Agenda includes the following subjects: Fight against doping, sport and health, sport and education, social function of sport, volunteering in sport, economic dimension of sport.
[3] In 2005 and 2006 five such expert meetings took place on the following issues: anti-doping, health, equal opportunities, free movement of sportspeople, volunteering.
[4] http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/social_dialogue/docs/decision98_500_en.pdf ,( ) Decision of 20 May 1998 on the establishment of Sectoral Dialogue Committees promoting the Dialogue between the social partners at European level.
[5] A global collective agreement specific to the sports sector has been signed in France, the Netherlands and Sweden. In the football sector, collective agreements exist in eleven Member States.
[6] ENSSEE (European Network of Sports Sciences, Education, and Employment): Preparing a social dialogue committee in the sport sector, 2001
EASE: BSDSS project: Building the social dialogue in the sport sector, 2003/04
EASE: Row the Boat project: Re-enforcing the representativeness of social partners in the sport sector 2006/07
FIFPro: Establishment of social dialogue in the European football industry, 2002
FIFPro: Establishment of social dialogue in the European football industry part II (searching for partners), 2003/04
EFFC: Promoting the social dialogue in the European professional football sector, 2003/04
TMC Asser Instituut: the social dialogue in the European professional football sector in candidate countries, 2003/04
FIFPro: Social Dialogue Project, part III, 2005/06
[7] "Under the Convergence objective, an appropriate amount of ESF resources shall be allocated to capacity-building, which shall include training, networking measures, strengthening the social dialogue and activities jointly undertaken by the social partners", Art. 5 § 3 of Regulation (EC) No 1081/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 on the European Social Fund and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1784/1999.

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