Commission launches initiative to promote physical activity in Europe

The European Commission adopted on the 28 August 2013 a proposal for a Council Recommendation on health-enhancing physical activity (HEPA) in order to address the high rates of physical inactivity in Europe.

The Council were due start discussing the Recommendation in September 2013 and could possibly adopt before the end of 2013. EU support for the implementation of the measures was proposed to come from Erasmus+, due to start in 2014.

The initiative followed a call from the Council of the European Union in 2012 inviting the Commission to present a proposal for a Council Recommendation promoting a cross-sectoral approach to health-enhancing physical activity based on the 2008 EU Physical Activity Guidelines.

European Commission: RAPID: Press Release, IP/13/793: Getting people out of their chairs: new initiative to promote physical activity in Europe http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-793_en.pdf

European Commission: Sport: News, 08/13: New Commission initiative to promote health-enhancing physical activity http://ec.europa.eu/sport/news/201308-comm-initiative-hepa_en.htm

WHO: Europe: What we do: Physical activity http://www.euro.who.int/en/what-we-do/health-topics/disease-prevention/physical-activity

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