Programme of the Austrian Presidency July - December 2018

Programme of the Austrian Presidency July - December 2018

On 1 July, Austria took over the 6 month Presidency of the Council of the EU Council. Austria presidency will conclude the trio of presidencies composed with Estonia and Bulgaria (respectively second semester of 2017 and first semester of 2018).

In their programme, available on the Austrian Presidency website, the country reveals its three priorities for the upcoming semester:

  1. Security and the fight against illegal migration,
  2. Securing prosperity and competitiveness through digitalisation,
  3. Stability in the European neighbourhood – EU perspective of the Western Balkans/South Eastern Europe.

Without being directly related to sport these priorities can nevertheless have an impact on the sport sector:

  • The Austrian Presidency will pursue the tough negotiations regarding Brexit and the Political Declaration on the framework for future EU-UK relations associated with the Withdrawal Agreement have to be finalised by autumn 2018. Relationships with sport organisations coming from the UK  may be impacted by these negotiations.
  • Negotiations on the MFF post 2020 will also be conducted under the Presidency. In addition of discussing Erasmus programme, the objective for Austria is to strive for quick and efficient progress on the cohesion policy package (including ERDF, the cohesion fund and ESF+). The EOC EU Office is closely following the topic as these funds are crucial for sport organisations and the development of sport infrastructures.
  • The Austrian Presidency will make efforts to achieve significant progress in having a more efficient, fair and transparent tax systems, which could have an effect on current tax regulations for sport activities.
  • The Austrian Presidency “will devote special attention to the topic of gender equality and development” with a strong emphasis on issues such as women and education, women and health, combating violence against women and girls, etc. Thus, inequality between men and women participation in sport activities could be addressed through this area and sport organisations could be involved in this field.

Regarding the area of sport, the main focus of the Presidency will be the Economic Dimension of Sport. On 22 September, just before the opening of the European Week of Sport, the Presidency will host a conference on the topic, in Vienna. Further information has already been released in the previous edition of our Monthly report.

The EOC EU Office will keep you informed of developments during the Austrian Presidency.

 

Further Information:

Programme of the Austrian Presidency

Recent Posts

European Commission launches #BeActive Awards 2023 competition

On 16 March, the European Commission opened the submission for the #BeActive Awards 2023. The #BeActive Awards 2023 are designed to celebrate organisations and projects that have thrivingly promoted sport and physical activity throughout Europe. The #BeActive Awards 2023  includes four categories: Across Generations award: this award, first launched in 2022, is intended to honour […]

Read More
MEPs address UEFA & IOC on exclusion of Belarusian athletes from EURO 2024 & Paris 2024

On 14 March, 104 MEPs addressed a letter to UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin opposing the participation of Belarus at the EURO 2024 qualifiers. The MEPs, from all the main political groups, called on the European football governing body to ban Belarus from EURO 2024 qualifying matches due to the regime’s abuse of human rights. As […]

Read More
MEPs host exhibition on e-sports and videogames

On 7 March, an exhibition on e-sports and videogames was held in the European Parliament building in Brussels, hosted by MEP Laurence Farreng (Renew) with the support of the S&D, the EPP, the Greens, and the International Software Federation of Europe (ISFE). Several MEPs made an intervention, highlighting e-sports as a rapidly developing sector with […]

Read More

Related Posts

March 17, 2023
European Commission launches #BeActive Awards 2023 competition

On 16 March, the European Commission opened the submission for the #BeActive Awards 2023. The #BeActive Awards 2023 are designed to celebrate organisations and projects that have thrivingly promoted sport and physical activity throughout Europe. The #BeActive Awards 2023  includes four categories: Across Generations award: this award, first launched in 2022, is intended to honour […]

March 17, 2023
MEPs address UEFA & IOC on exclusion of Belarusian athletes from EURO 2024 & Paris 2024

On 14 March, 104 MEPs addressed a letter to UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin opposing the participation of Belarus at the EURO 2024 qualifiers. The MEPs, from all the main political groups, called on the European football governing body to ban Belarus from EURO 2024 qualifying matches due to the regime’s abuse of human rights. As […]

March 13, 2023
MEPs host exhibition on e-sports and videogames

On 7 March, an exhibition on e-sports and videogames was held in the European Parliament building in Brussels, hosted by MEP Laurence Farreng (Renew) with the support of the S&D, the EPP, the Greens, and the International Software Federation of Europe (ISFE). Several MEPs made an intervention, highlighting e-sports as a rapidly developing sector with […]

About us

The EOC EU Office is the House of European Sport, representing the European Olympic Committees (EOC), the IOC and other major sport organisations to the European institutions in Brussels.
CONTACT
crossmenu linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram