Deputy State Secretary Krešimir Šamija chaired a Video Meeting of EU Sport Directors - Main contents

Under the Croatian Presidency of the Council of the European Union Deputy State Secretary Krešimir Šamija chaired a Video Meeting of EU Sport Directors today.

Deputy State Secretary Šamija presented the results of the Croatian presidency of the Council of the European Union and emphasized that the Council adopted two sets of conclusions - Conclusions on empowering coaches by enhancing opportunities to acquire skills and competences, which were adopted on 4 June and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the recovery of the sport sector, which were adopted by the Council three days ago. In the last conclusions on the topic of the coronavirus it was emphasized that all Member States are invited to promote all possibilities of support available through EU programmes, funds and initiatives. It was emphasised that all sport activities must resume in a safe environment and in secured conditions, cautiously and gradually, avoiding premature relaxing of specific measures. In the conclusions the sport movement is also invited to follow all guidelines of international and national health institutions regarding questions of prevention and spreading of the COVID-19 virus, as well as to consider possibilities of updating national sport calendars while taking into account European and international sport calendars.

The European Commission also presented its activates in the field of sport, including the flexibility for Erasmus+ Sport projects in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The main topics of the today’s meeting were Sport and the Media and exchange of views on the preparation of The EU Work Plan for Sport for the upcoming period.

Dražen Brajdić, a journalist from Večernji list, Folker Hellmund, Director EOC EU Office and Sanda Čorak, Vice president of the Croatian Olympic Committee and President of the Croatian judo federation presented their views on the topic of the future EU Work Plan for Sport.

It was pointed out at the meeting that the media have a huge impact on society and an important role in everyday life, and the way sport is presented in the media has a great social and economic significance. The role of media for professional sport and for encouraging physical activity is more significant than ever. This was especially emphasized in this coronavirus situation, where we could see how sport media gave contribution in organizing physical education for children at distance, motivating citizens to remain active, following the athletes and keeping the sport topics live even though there were no sport competitions. In a number of Member States different campaigns were launched at the national but also a local levels in cooperation between media and sport organizations. It was also emphasized that the current situation caused by the coronavirus has an impact on the sport media and that all efforts for recovery and further sustainable development of the sport sector should take into consideration the development of future relations between sport and the media.

“In social terms, media coverage of sport, including social media, can have impact on a range of issues such is positive influence on people to take up sport and be more active. It has a role in the educational aspect and can promote opportunities for learning. Also, it has ability to promote social and cultural diversity, social inclusion and non-discrimination when covering sport issues and thus build social cohesion,” said Deputy Šamija.

Discussing the EU Work Plan for Sport, beyond 2020 the need for a flexible framework of future EU cooperation in sport, especially regarding unforeseen social and economic challenges was pointed out. Different ways of cooperation and the involvement of the sport movement in the implementation of the Work Plan, along with the existing activities of cooperation, such as a structured dialogue and cooperation within Expert groups, were taken into consideration.

“The current situation has shown us that it is not always easy to find balance between long-term strategic goals and responses to unpredictable changes and unforeseen circumstances. We have seen how important it is to respond quickly to all challenges, to refocus priorities and to use currently available resources and tools to continue our work,” Šamija concluded.