Memo: Digital Agenda: Commission welcomes Court ruling confirming Member States’ discretion to determine free to view sporting events

The European Commission welcomes the EU General Court's ruling confirming that individual Member States have discretion under EU law to decide which sporting events are of major importance for their public and so should be available on free-to-view television. The rulings concerned an appeal by FIFA and UEFA against a Commission decision to approve lists of football matches to be available on free-to-view television submitted by Belgium and the United Kingdom. The Court found that the Commission acted correctly in approving the lists of events of UK and Belgium. Consequently, FIFA’s and UEFA’s actions were dismissed. Both Belgium and the United Kingdom had submitted lists including the whole final tournament of the FIFA Football World Cup (i.e.64 football matches) and the UK's list also included all the UEFA European Football Championship (EURO - i.e. 31 matches). Under the EU’s Audiovisual Media Services (AVMS) Directive (Article 14), Member States can draw up a list of events of major importance (such as the Olympic Games) for their general public and take measures to ensure that these events are accessible on free-to-view television. These lists can be submitted to the European Commission for approval in order to get recognition in other Member States. At present, the lists in 8 Member States approved by the Commission (Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and United Kingdom) are in force.