MEPs vote through ‘EU Flag’ sports report

East Midlands Conservative MEP Emma McClarkin has voiced concerns over a report, approved in Brussels today (Nov 10th), which seeks to intefere with the way professional sport is run in member states.

The report, titled A European Dimension in Sport, includes a raft of proposals for creating a European framework of sports regulations. Miss McClarkin says they are all better organised at a national level.

It was approved today by the European Parliaments Culture and Education Committee with only two votes against, both from MEPs in the European Conservatives and Reformists Group.

The report’s most controversial proposal involves putting the EU flag on the shirts of national teams – so that England’s footballers, for example, would sport the Stars of Europe emblem alongside the three lions.

Although the demands of this clause have been diluted during committee dicsussions, it still says sports federations should consider displaying the EU symbol on athlete’s clothing . Member states thankfully would be allowed to make the final decision – but the report nevertheless calls for the EU flag to be flown at all major sports events.

Emma McClarkin MEP, Conservative spokesman on Culture, Education and Sport in the European Parliament, said:

“In the UK we are immensely proud of our national teams. The European flag means nothing to our fans and we do not want it anywhere near our teams’ shirts. Nor do we want it flying over Wembley, Lord’s or Wimbledon.

“Much of this report attempts to set out European rules or standards for things we already do perfectly well in the UK. They should let us get on with enjoying our sport and stop trying to tell us how to run it.”

The report seeks to ban non-EU agents from operating – a move which would hit many sports, especially football, cricket and rugby.

Other major proposals in the report include a call on national governments to make trafficking of performance-enhancing drugs illegal, the creation of a European database of hooligans and the creation of a specific tax framework for sport

But Emma McClarkin said:

“The first of these undermines existing national law, the second duplicates what is already done by Europol and the third interferes in taxation which must always remain a national issue.

“This report does nothing to promote sport; it only seeks to control it.”