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EuropeActive

EuropeActive is the leading non-profit and member-based organisation representing the European fitness and physical activity sector, which served 67,7 million consumers, generated EUR 31,8 billion in revenue, and consisted of +64 000 facilities in 2023.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Bogdan Andrzej Zdrojewski (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur) and Union of European Football Associations and

10 Dec 2025 · Stakeholder dialogue on establishing the Erasmus+ programme for the period 2028-2034

Response to A strategic vision for sport in Europe: reinforcing the European sport model

8 Dec 2025

EuropeActive, the leading member-based non-profit organisation representing the European fitness & physical activity sector, welcomes the Commissions intention to revise the European Sport Model (ESM). Representing +70 million users, 64550 facilities and generating 36 billion annual revenue, our sector continues to grow notably thanks to its informal, divers and non-structured offer that citizens increasingly value for its flexibility and convenience. Being physically active is now a normative behaviour rather than an exception, reflecting a significant societal shift. Our sectors popularity further grows as people exercise not only for their health but also for the social interactions it provides at community level. Given its ability to cater to an ever-growing market, the societal position it holds as the preferred access to exercise, our sector is a key puzzle piece of safeguarding and expanding a holistic approach to health, both physical and mental. We call for the ESM to evolve from the pyramid model towards a Church one, allowing for a truer reflection of participation while also better supporting accessible and community-based physical activities for the many. Given Europes current, and future, social and health challenges, our sector is committed to improve our continents public health and contribute to social cohesion by the means of Health-Enhancing Physical Activity (HEPA), recalling that: The latest Eurobarometer on sport and physical activity (2022) found that 45% of Europeans report to never engage in exercise or sport, The latest OECD Report Health at a Glance Europe 2024 found that only 15% of adults meet the WHO-recommended levels of physical activity, Extensive scientific research details the biological mechanisms through which exercise aids NCD prevention and management. Regular activity enhances cardiovascular function, improves insulin sensitivity, and reduces chronic inflammation and oxidative stress- physical activity enables individuals of all ages to maintain and improve their physical and mental health, and well-being, WHO/OECD's 2023 Step up! Tackling the burden of insufficient physical activity in Europe report outlined that achieving at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise weekly could prevent 11,5 million of new NCD cases by 2050, including cardiovascular diseases, depression, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers. Meeting the target of 300 minutes of physical activity per week would prevent a further 16 million cases of NCDs. It further found that every 1 invested in physical activity will return 1,7 in economic benefit. The untapped potential of exercise as a public health tool for prevention, management and care can no longer be overlooked. Since this initiative strives to strengthen, safeguard and promote the organisation of sport on our continent, and considering the EUs commitment to unlock the potential of physical activity to improve physical and mental health, the European fitness and physical activity sector calls on the Commission to seize this opportunity to bring healthy lifestyle promotion and accessibility to the centre of ESM, and to provide HEPA the resources and policy attention it deserves to fulfil this mission. Doing so will enable the EU to proactively reverse inactivity levels and correlated negative health and economic outcomes, by focusing on the many and enabling more people, be more active, more often. Emphasis on cross-sector collaboration will prove EU acknowledgment that health behaviours, and physical activity levels, are shaped by structural and systemic factors exceeding individual control and responsibility. Societal and structural shifts are required to encourage and support people to remain active. To do so, collaborations across sectors are required (physical activity, health, sport, education, urban planning), as stated by the 2021 EUSport Parliamentary Report stressing the need to include policy fields beyond sport alone.
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Meeting with Mārtiņš Staķis (Member of the European Parliament)

4 Dec 2025 · Introductory Meeting

Meeting with Roberts Zīle (Member of the European Parliament)

3 Dec 2025 · BEACTIVE, fitness and health initiatives

Meeting with Antonín Staněk (Member of the European Parliament)

3 Dec 2025 · Sports and health policies in the Czech Republic

Response to EU’s next long-term budget (MFF) – EU funding for cross-border education, training and solidarity, youth, media, culture, and creative sectors, values, and civil society

3 Nov 2025

On behalf of the European fitness and physical activity sector, and based on the Commissions Proposal for a Regulation on the 2028-34 MFF, EuropeActive raises the following points: The announced budget for the future Erasmus+ programme raises concern as it barely constitutes an increase when accounting for inflation and for its merge with the European Solidarity Corps. The lack of earmarked sectoral chapters raises further concern, as this flexibility runs the risk of excluding sector specific considerations and needs, and risks creating further uncertainty for beneficiaries across different sectors, as budgets for various activities, topics and sectors would be expected to be negotiated on a yearly basis. This approach can only create a precarious environment that holds stakeholders back from mid to long term planning and unfairly favour stakeholders with more resources and the ability to adapt. We regret that this proposals alignment with existing EU sport policies doesnt include the participation in sport and health-enhancing physical activity key pillar of the EU Work Plan for Sport 2024-27, and only sporadically refers to health and wellbeing as objectives of sport activities. Sport and Physical Activity must be clearly and systematically referenced across relevant future funding programmes to effectively reflect the current diversity of activities, stakeholders/ providers, but also citizens growing appeal for informal and non-organised exercise activities that exceed traditional organised and competitive sports only. With more people than ever before exercising for their health, it is essential for relevant EU programmes and policies to support this societal shift, and to honour Commissioner Micallefs task to safeguard and strengthen how sport plays an important role in peoples lives and as an anchor to bring communities and people together and improve our health and well-being (2024 Mission Letter). Health-Enhancing Physical Activity (HEPA) must be a core activity priority, as it remains an untapped, proven and cost-effective preventative tool to improve health, wellbeing and productivity levels, therefore focusing attention on the many by helping more people, be more active, more often. To do so sustainably, EU funding programmes must strive to foster greater cross-sectoral collaborations- health behaviours are shaped by structural and systemic factors that exceed individual control and responsibility: societal and structural shifts are required to encourage and support people to lead active and healthy lifestyles. Collaborations across sectors, such as physical activity, health, sport, education, urban planning, are necessary to achieve so. We regret the lack of reference to Not for Profit Sport Events aiming to further develop the European dimension of sport, which have been key funding lines to enable sport and physical activity stakeholders to implement campaigns that simultaneously: enable individuals to be active across the continent, directly contribute to the Commissions European Week of Sport, and that bring to life WHOs Global Action Plan on Physical Activity 2018-30 recommendations to run physical activity campaigns as key to reversing the continuous rise of sedentary lifestyles.
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Response to EU cardiovascular health plan

11 Sept 2025

EuropeActive & its undersigned National Associations welcome the initiative for an EU CVD Plan. We strongly support the focus on prevention, as tackling risk factors and early chronic disease is the most effective way to protect citizens health, reduce suffering, and ease the immense economic burden of treatments & hospitalisations. CVDs remain the leading cause of death in Europe, affecting 60 million people, with millions new diagnoses yearly. Beyond the personal toll, CVDs cost billions through healthcare expenses, productivity losses & informal care. Europe also faces a demographic challenge, with an ageing population that risks putting further strain on health systems and labour markets. Addressing this requires coordinated action across sectors, with physical activity a core element of prevention and management. Physical activity is one of the most powerful, evidence-based & cost-efficient tools to prevent & manage CVDs/NCDs. Research shows that exercise lowers blood pressure, improves vascular health, maintains healthy weight, prevents and manages Type 2 diabetes & reduces cancer risk. It also supports mental health by reducing depression, enhancing mood & improving cognition. The strongest CVD benefits stem from improved cardiorespiratory fitness, measured as VO max. Adults who meet WHO guidelines enjoy a 2030% lower risk of premature death. If every European achieved 150 min of moderate activity weekly, the EU could prevent 11.5 million NCD cases by 2050, incl 3.8 million CVD cases. Maintaining activity across the lifespan also supports longer workforce participation, critical as many older workers on sick leave fail to return to employment. WHO classifies physical activity promotion among its global Best Buys, recognising it as one of the most cost-effective interventions. Yet physical activity remains under-prioritised. 1 in 3 Europeans fail to meet WHO guidelines and only 5.8% live a healthy lifestyle. Without reversing this trend, the EU will struggle to achieve SDG 3.4. Promoting physical activity also reduces inequalities: affordable, community-based programmes bring health benefits across socio-economic groups, ensuring no one is left behind. Amid this decline, and the urgent need to prevent CVDs/NCDs highlighted by COVID-19 physical activity still receives too little attention in health policy. Therefore, we urge the Commission to make physical activity a core element of the Plan, through these actions: Prioritise physical activity politically and financially: Recognise physical activity as one of the most cost-effective yet underutilised public health interventions, and allocate dedicated funding and political support to implement it across Europe. Integrate physical activity into healthcare and clinical practice: Establish systematic screenings for physical inactivity, assess fitness levels through validated measures such as VO max, provide tailored counselling, and develop referral pathways to adapted fitness and physical activity programmes, including for people living with, or at risk of, cardiovascular diseases. Foster cross-sector collaboration and increase support: Strengthen coordination between health, physical activity and fitness, transport, education, and urban planning sectors, and expand EU funding for cross-sectoral programmes, digital platfroms and initiatives that promote physical activity, creating environments that make active lifestyles more accessible and achievable across all regions. Invest in research and evidence-based solutions: Fund research to identify the most effective strategies for increasing physical activity, reducing sedentary behaviour, and scaling successful interventions across Europe. Support inclusive, community-based initiatives: Promote initiatives that encourage active lifestyles while reducing health inequalities, ensuring that benefits reach all socio-economic groups, incl vulnerable populations. See full response & signatories in attachment.
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Meeting with Nina Carberry (Member of the European Parliament)

3 Sept 2025 · Sport Policy

Meeting with Bogdan Andrzej Zdrojewski (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur)

2 Sept 2025 · Report on the role of EU policies in shaping the European Sport Model

Meeting with Bogdan Andrzej Zdrojewski (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur) and NOVE and

18 Mar 2025 · Stakeholder dialogue on The role of EU policies in shaping the European Sport Model

Meeting with Hannes Heide (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and NOVE and

18 Mar 2025 · Stakeholder dialogue on The role of EU policies in shaping the European Sport Model

Meeting with Maria Walsh (Member of the European Parliament)

12 Dec 2024 · Active Aging and Demographic Changes

Meeting with Nina Carberry (Member of the European Parliament)

12 Dec 2024 · EU Sports Policy

Meeting with Elena Nevado Del Campo (Member of the European Parliament)

5 Nov 2024 · Improvement Cardiovascular Health

Meeting with András Tivadar Kulja (Member of the European Parliament)

2 Oct 2024 · Healthy society

Meeting with Stine Bosse (Member of the European Parliament)

5 Sept 2024 · Health policy

Meeting with Vangelis Demiris (Cabinet of Vice-President Margaritis Schinas)

27 Jun 2022 · European week of sports, BEACTIVE DAY campaign

Meeting with Julie Fionda (Cabinet of Commissioner Marianne Thyssen)

13 Jul 2017 · Skills