Boost the role of local and regional authorities in the promotion of physical activity and sport for all, including people with disabilities, through investment in participation in the European Week of Sport (EWoS) and new activities;
Support the mainstreaming of sport into the EU agenda post-2020, including in the context of the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF);
Call for a more innovation-friendly environment for the EU sports industry in order to stimulate technological innovation and the setting up of businesses with a focus on innovative community-based technology;
Invite the European Commission to consider:
under the umbrella of a future European Social Fund, dedicated funds for physical activity and sport;
increasing funding for Erasmus + sport programme, with a possible focus on specific settings such as schools;
supporting campaigns to promote healthy dietary practices and increasing the consumption of fruit and vegetables through the annual calls on the Promotion of Agricultural Products;
identifying, within the relevant forums, appropriate mechanisms to improve the existing collection of data on health indicators, as well as data on interventions and actions put in place by cities.

The opinion was adopted too recently to assess its impact.

THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS



- highlights the fact that sport is not a marginal sector, but rather a priority area for EU investment, as alongside competitive activities, the definition of sport nowadays also fully encompasses the areas of motor activity and physical activity, which are useful not only in terms of increasing sporting activity itself, but also in promoting health and the adoption of a healthy lifestyle;

- points out that the role played by sport in the economy and in contemporary society – including following the economic crisis experienced by EU – entails significant benefits for local and regional authorities;

- points out the opportunity to propose measures and to adopt practical tools with a view to "Mainstreaming sport into the EU agenda post-2020", through:

• considering it essential to introduce more explicit guidelines also under "Erasmus+", on the need to boost sport beginning with compulsory education;

• calling for the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) to support employment, particularly youth employment, through start-ups or technological innovation platforms in the sector and to boost basic grassroots sport with the help of a new generation of small-scale sports infrastructures and facilities;

• promoting gender equality through sport for more effective sport policies to increase the percentage of participation;

• calling that the above-mentioned initiatives be considered in the negotiations for the next Multiannual Financial Framework with sport being effectively mainstreamed into the EU agenda post-2020;

• further calling for a discussion on the appropriateness of eventually establishing a Sports Programme.