FIA welcomes new EU competences in tourism and sport

Publication date: 19 October 2007

PRESS RELEASE

Brussels, 19th October 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The recent Lisbon summit (19th October 2007) succeeded in adopting the new Reform Treaty which aims at streamlining a significantly enlarged European Union. The main aims of the Reform treaty are to give the EU enhanced capacity to act, in particular in response to global challenges, to increase the effectiveness of the decision ¬making mechanisms and to improve the democratic accountability.

draft_treaty_of_lisbon_05102007.pdf (1482 KB)

Most important for the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) is the fact that there are now articles in the treaty on tourism (176b) and sport (149). This means that the European Commission will have a specific competence in both fields with the scope to legislate.

The Reform Treaty also retains a number of the most important elements of the dropped Constitution Treaty:

• Generalisation of co-decision legislative procedure to assure democratic legitimisation of European legislation.
• Qualified majority voting (QMV) as of 2014 will be the general rule in the Council. Its definition as a double majority of 55% of the States representing 65% of the population is kept. There will be a three year transitional phase in which decision may still be blocked according to the Nice Treaty voting rules.
• The European Parliament  will be composed of 750 members (from 749 today with an additional seat given to Italy) plus the President of the Parliament.
• A permanent President of the European Council will be chosen.
• A 'double-hatted' High Representative for Foreign Policy will chair the Foreign Affairs Council and be assisted by a European External Action Service.
• Freedom, Security and Justice henceforth become Community issues (i.e. no longer third pillar) with some exemptions for the UK and Ireland.
• The Commission President will be proposed by the European Council, selected by QMV and will be elected by the Parliament by a majority of its members.
• The single legal personality of the Union is kept and the pillar structure disappears.
• The Charter of Fundamental Rights is legally binding and has the same legal rank as the Treaties.
• The new legal bases for energy, tourism, sport, space, administrative cooperation are kept and furthermore environment policy has been supplemented by a reference to climate change.
• A new mechanism that permits national parliaments to control subsidiarity has been introduced: If 55% of national parliaments adopt a reasoned opinion stating that a legislative proposal does not respect the principle of subsidiarity, the Council and the Parliament will have to vote as to whether the proposal can go forwards.
• The recourse to enhanced cooperation will be easier.

Notes

The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, the world’s leading motoring and touring organisation, represents via its affiliated members, national motoring and touring organisations totalling over 100 million motorists worldwide and 34 million motorists in the European Union. It is also the governing body of motor sport worldwide.

Europe’s motoring and touring organisations have as their highest priority to make mobility more sustainable, i.e. more reliable, cleaner and safer while keeping it affordable for all.

As the leading European mobility organisation, the FIA and its member clubs have unbiased consumer orientated expertise and long experience in a variety of mobility related issues, including tourism.

Tourism is the 21st century’s largest global business with the potential to generate enormous economic and employment growth. Europe is the premier destination with a 57% share of the global market, 400 million annual arrivals, 11 out of 20 of the top tourist destinations world wide.

The FIA believes that tourism can play a major role in creating growth and jobs and promote regional development. The sector employs directly 8 million Europeans and 20 million indirectly while it generates over 250 billion euro revenue and is set to represent 15% of GDP by 2015.