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More attention to physical activity in the EU elections!

The lack of physical activity has been identified as a significant social problem in Finland, and the same is needed at the European level. The European Union does not regulate laws concerning physical activity, but it supports the promotion of physical activity through the EU's sports work plan and Erasmus+ funding. In Finland, the government is implementing the Finland on the Move (Suomi liikkeelle) program - how can we create a Europe on the Move program?

Finland is one of the top countries in Europe when it comes to physical activity. However, less than 54 per cent of Finnish higher education students get too little exercise for the good of their health, and students spend an average of 11 hours a day sitting.

The EU should promote physical and mental wellbeing through physical activity. OLL encourages members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to promote a physically active lifestyle e.g. through the following measures:

  1. The importance of everyday physical activity and low-threshold physical activity should be increased throughout the EU in an inter-administrative way, alongside sport policy.
  2. Funding opportunities for higher education institutions and other parties involved in activities related to students’ physical activity must be safeguarded. The Erasmus+ programme, among others, funds development projects and networking activities in higher education institutions.
  3. Finnish MEPs should apply for membership of the European Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education (CULT) and other institutions relevant to physical activity and higher education students.

OLL's sports policy policy paper (avalaiable here, only in Finnish and Swedish) emphasises the roles of health and recreational sports as the most important part of higher education sports services. According to the policy paper, the EU should continue to support cooperation projects between higher education sports activities as well as their network activities.