Midlands North West MEP Nina Carberry has called on the European Commission to earmark dedicated funding for sport and physical activity in the next long term EU Budget.
Ahead of the Commission's official Budget publication on 16 July, Carberry joined her EPP party colleague Nikolina Brnjac, Croatia's former Minister for Sports, in writing to Commission Vice-President Raffaele Fitto, urging the inclusion of a dedicated allocation for local sports infrastructure across the EU.
Speaking to Galway Bay FM, MEP Carberry said that 45% of Europeans do not engage in any form of sport or physical activity, a trend she says is a ticking time bomb for healthcare systems.
Looking ahead to the EU Week of Sport in September, Carberry will host a series of events in the European Parliament, continuing a conversation she began last year with Professor Niall Moyna, focusing on how EU policymaking in sport can improve citizens' health and wellbeing.