The European Constitution: turning "non/nee " into "oui/ja "
...lessons for the fitness industry
We have entered a period of uncertainty...At this writing, the fate of the European Constitution dominates newspaper headlines and broadcast news programmes in every European nation.
On May 31, the French voted NO, and a couple of days later, the Dutch confirmed the NO, and most probably the United Kingdom will postpone its referendum. There are various other countries to follow, but all 25 countries need to vote in favour. So, with two founding EU countries against, diplomats in Brussels are now working on a plan B for the fate of the Constitution.
One might wonder what's going on in the minds of the Europeans. Have they lost faith in the future of the European Union? Do they not trust the judgement of their governments, all of which have strongly recommended YES? Do they no longer believe that a stronger Europe is better?
I don't think so. The people really used this referendum to send a signal to their governments about their dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs. Very few people have actually studied the draft constitution (475 pages long) and most have based their opinion on advice from politicians or the media.
What does all this mean for business? For the short term, nothing.
However, for the longer term it does have influence. Europe is far from one country, and is still very fragmented; there are big differences between north and south, east and west.
If you have studied the recently published 2005 IHRSA European Market Report, you will have noticed the enormous differences in many aspects: corporate tax rates, VAT, fitness penetration, average size of clubs, monthly dues, the market share for (international) multiple club operators, etc.
This diversity will continue for many years to come, and the old adage "all business is local " has never been more true. But the need for closer cooperation is as strong as ever!
The rejection of the new Constitution proposal will delay the addition of new members like Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey. It is generally believed that the expansion and integration of Europe has been thrown back by at least 5 to 10 years. Does that mean Europe is now unmanageable? Definitely not! The old treaties from Nice and Maastricht are still valid, and on this basis the EU can well be managed.
From a Health and Fitness Industry perspective, the attention focussed on the European Constitution can be seen as a catalyst for the development of our own "European Union ". Today no significant structural communication/cooperation between the various national associations exists. The need for closer cooperation on an international level is more urgent than ever.
It is IHRSA's belief that we can only design and implement an effective industry representation and public policy agenda if all European associations and federations get together under one European "umbrella ".
I have had several meetings with individual federations during the last couple of months and they all agree that such a European platform would be very beneficial to all and that IHRSA would be the right organisation to bring everybody together.
The next step will be during the IHRSA European Congress (2-5 October in Rome) where we have invited ALL the European federation bosses, to be present at a meeting on Sunday, where we will brainstorm about the possibilities of creating such a pan-EU foundation.
The objective is to make sure our industry has representation at the table, e.g., in Brussels with the EU, at the WHO in Geneva, and all other relevant international governing bodies. More and more these institutions create legislation that does impact the operations and financial well being of our industry.
A referendum among the countries is definitely not necessary to get a YES vote for this initiative!
Reactions/comments to this column are welcome! hpr@ihrsa.org
Tel 31 70 511 91 71
