APRIL 6, 1998

Mosley's new European offensive

WHILE the Grand Prix circus was busy in Brazil FIA President Max Mosley was continuing his battle against the European Commission's Competition Directorate.

WHILE the Grand Prix circus was busy in Brazil FIA President Max Mosley was continuing his battle against the EuropeanÊCommission's Competition Directorate. Mosley was one of a dozen international sporting chiefs who gathered in Lausanne, Switzerland, to discuss the current aggressive policy adopted by the European Commission towards sport. This followed an expansion in the Sports Unit at the Competition Directorate last autumn. The European Commissioner for Competition Karel Van Miert believes that sport should be treated as a business and cannot be left to regulate itself.

Many international sporting governing bodies object to such interference as they are not restricted to operations in Europe and do not see why the Commission should tamper with their financial arrangements. The Lausanne meeting took place during a gathering of International Olympic Committee delegates and the talks resulted in the establishment of a working group under Jose Antonio Samaranch, the President of the International Olympic Committee. This committee will formulate plans to defend sports against the European Union.

In addition to Mosley, the committee includes Primo Nebiolo, the President of International Athletics Federation, MarcÊHolder of the International Skiing Federation (FIS), Jacques Rogge of the European Olympic Committee and Gerhard Aigner of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA).