Report from the commission to the European parliament, the council, the European economic and social committee and the committee of the regions on the implementation of the European Union work plan for sport 2011-2014

Following inclusion of sport in the Lisbon Treaty and in line with article 165 TFEU, the European Union (EU) and the Member States strengthened their cooperation in an effort to develop further the European dimension in sport. Following the 2011 Commission Communication on sport, the Council’s Resolution on a European Union Work Plan for Sport (2011-2014) opened a new chapter of European cooperation on sport policy. For the first time, Member States, the Presidencies of the Council and the Commission were invited to work together along agreed guiding principles, to focus on priority themes (‘integrity of sport’, ‘social values of sport’, ‘economic aspects of sport’) and to implement specific actions. In an area where the EU has a supporting competence this Work Plan provided a valuable framework for all actors to cooperate in a coordinated way and in mutual respect of national and EU competences. In order to support the implementation of the Work Plan, working methods new to the field of sport were introduced, notably Expert Groups as well as strengthened dialogue structures. The Commission was asked to produce a report on the implementation of the Work Plan as a basis for a new Work Plan from mid-2014 onwards. This report assesses the progress towards the implementation of actions in line with the priority themes identified in the Work Plan and reviews the use of working methods introduced, inter alia drawing upon the work of the Expert Groups, written contributions submitted by Member States and consultations with stakeholders. In light of this assessment, the Commission has drawn its conclusions.