On 4 October 2016, the 3rd meeting of the EOC EU Commission took place in Brussels. The Commission members had the opportunity to discuss recent activities in EU sport policy and to meet European Union’s sport policy officials. Another objective of this meeting was to allow members of the EOC EU Commission to exchange on the future activities and organisation of the Commission
The day prior to the actual Commission meeting, the members of the Commission met with Bart Ooijen, representative of the Dutch permanent representation and former Chair of the Working Party on Sport under the Dutch Presidency, for a working diner. The discussion focused on the activities that had been undertaken under the Dutch Presidency, including the adoption of Council conclusions on Major Sport Events and the accompanying declaration with the sport movement. In addition, the upcoming EU Work Plan for Sport was discussed.
On the next day, Juri Tamm, Chair of the EOC EU Commission officially welcomed all participants. Following this welcome, the EOC EU Office updated the Commission members on different EU policy fields including Erasmus+ Sport, good governance and the Digital Single Market. In addition, Folker Hellmund, Head of the EOC EU Office, stressed the increasing number of challenges that sport organisations are facing in relation to EU competition policy.
The second part of the morning session was dedicated to discuss the future of EU sport policy and to explore ways to develop the EOC EU Commission’s activities, influence and visibility.
Following lively and fruitful discussions, the Commission adopted the upcoming recommendations:
- Increase the number of meetings and link them with EU Presidencies
- Increase the visibility of the Commission at EU level
- Improve relations between NOCs and EU officials
- Increase the visibility of the Commission within EOC and encourage NOCs to use financial opportunities that the EU can bring (e.g. Erasmus+ Sport)
- Support activities of EOC Athletes at the EU level
During the last part of the meeting, an exchange with Yves Le Lostecque, Head of the Sport Unit of the European Commission, took place. Apart from discussing recent developments of EU sport policy including the new call for Erasmus+ Sport and the European Week of Sport, the meeting enabled the Commission to present its work and to exchange views on future activities in EU sport policy.
The next meeting of the EOC EU Commission is scheduled to take place in March, in connection with the EU Sport Forum, with a second meeting to be organised in the second half of 2017.