Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-07-23-Speech-5-020"
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"en.19990723.3.5-020"2
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"Madam President, I want to congratulate Commissioner Kinnock on the statement he has just made. I simply do not know how he managed to keep a straight face as he read out those comments. That statement from the Commission was quite appalling. I do not blame Commissioner Kinnock himself, but I certainly blame the action, attitude and inaction, in fact, of the outgoing Commission. This is a pathetic fine from a pathetic Commission. All we can say is that it is absolutely typical of the way they have conducted affairs over the last five years. I only hope that the President-elect Mr Prodi will take this as an example of how not to do it.
I was one of 32 Members of this Parliament who took a private legal action before the French courts last year in a last-ditch attempt to get more tickets for fans across Europe. Unfortunately, when we went to the French courts, we were told that it was too late at that stage to get the redistribution of tickets ordered, although the French courts themselves recognised that European rules had been flouted in the procedure that was followed.
I should like to point out that the costs to the individual Members of Parliament who took that legal action was, surprise, surprise, in the order of £1000 each, something rather more than the fine that has now been imposed upon the World Cup organisers.
The Commission itself, had it wished, had the power to impose a fine of something like EUR 20m – perhaps even more – if it had taken this seriously. It did not take it seriously in 1997 when it could have taken action to ensure a fair distribution. It did not take it seriously in 1998 when we had the problem and fans across Europe were denied the opportunity to see the World Cup. It is not taking it seriously now. What sort of message is this giving out to sports organisers? Commissioner Kinnock called this a symbolic fine. Well, it is certainly giving a sign that it does not take it seriously at all. We are talking about big business here. The amounts of money involved are significant. Something like £300m, I am told, was the turnover of the World Cup; the fine something like EUR 1000. This is simply not acceptable at all.
The sign that is being given is that the Commission is turning a blind eye, that it is not really worried. It is saying to large-scale organisers: ‘You can carry on exploiting the fans’. It is also saying that this is the way to encourage – and it is encouraging – a black market in these tickets. It must do something to stop it. Sport is now big business. The Commission in future must show that it means business to ensure that sport, like other businesses across Europe, must observe European rules and regulations."@en1
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"Perry (PPE)"1
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