The Cyprus EU Presidency has provided a venue for the European Commission’s largest annual sports conference, the 2026 EU Sport Forum.
The EU Sport Forum aims to inform sports stakeholders about current strategic topics along the EU’s sports policy priorities and to provide a consultation opportunity for organisations working in sports.
Among several Hungarian participants, the National School and University and Leisure Sport Federation (NSULF) was also invited to the event as the Hungarian coordinator of the European Week of Sport and an active policy actor in the field of health-enhancing physical activity (HEPA).
The main topic of the Sport Forum was the definition of the framework of the European sports model, which main pillars are the pyramid structure, open and fair competition, solidarity in sport, the autonomy of sports federations, community-based organisations, inclusiveness, good governance and volunteering. The European Commission plans to publish its strategic document on the European sports model in 2026.
Another important topic, which is also among the main priorities of Glenn Micallef, the EU Commissioner responsible for sport, is the topic of health-enhancing physical activity (HEPA), which has been one of the strongest pillars of the EU’s sports policy priorities since 2013, based on a Council recommendation, regular monitoring has been carried out on how the promotion of physical activity is manifested in different sectors (education, sport, health, urban planning, workplace and social affairs, etc.).
NSULF is an active participant in the EU-level HEPA monitoring processes and is also an active member of the HEPA Europe Network, which operates under the umbrella of the World Health Organization.
The good news regarding the Erasmus+ Programme is that the United Kingdom and Switzerland are expected to return as full partner states by 2027. In the multi-annual budget period starting in 2028, the Erasmus+ national agencies are expected to play a greater role in the assessment of applications, and this will bring grassroots sport organisations closer to the support of their cross-border sports projects.
Other topics of the EU Sport Forum included obstacles to women’s participation in sport, solidarity in sport in connection with the topic of talent management, the mental health of elite athletes, the Mediterranean Sport Union, and the future of European basketball with the arrival of NBA Europe planned for autumn 2027.
A key session for the NDHSZ was the workshop on the future of the European Week of Sport, during which the participating national coordinators and the central partners supporting the #BeActive campaign discussed which elements of the campaign are working well, what needs to be changed and what suggestions are emerging for the future.
The programme of the EU Sport Forum, and the presentations to be delivered soon, can be viewed on the following website: https://sport.ec.europa.eu/whats-new/events/eu-sport-forum-2026
