Europe's Basketball Clubs and Leagues Meet to Discuss White Paper

Brussels, April 11 2007. During their annual meeting Euroleague Basketball club, ULEB Cup club and Uleb league representatives met with Mr. Michal Krejza, Head of Sport Unit of the European Commission, in Brussels to exchange views on a planned White Paper. The proposed White Paper is a first attempt by the European Union to present a comprehensive and coherent regulations on sport in the European Unions member states. The said paper is a working document that seeks to establish a pan-European sporting model in three key aspects: society, economic and governance.

In the discussion it was highlighted the importance of a unified league representation, fiscal aspects of European competition, as well as coherence in player contracts.

"Currently there is no regulation on sport in the European Union" , said Jordi Bertomeu, CEO of Euroleague Basketball. "However that does not mean that it is not important. Though there does exist regulation on TV rights, anti-trust, advertising, etc, as general concepts, none of them are specifically thought for sport.

We are here today as representatives of Europe's leading professional basketball entities to listen to the proposed White Paper and to begin paving the way to regulation and creating a consensus in the sporting model on a pan-European level."