- 3 hours ago
EU Commissioner slams attempts to revive football Super League
In a wide-ranging exclusive interview with Euronews, EU Commissioner for Sport and Culture, Glenn Micallef, defends Europe’s football infrastructure, presents the EU’s first-ever strategic framework on culture and urges to improve working conditions for artists.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/11/13/eu-commissioner-slams-attempts-to-revive-football-super-league
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
In a wide-ranging exclusive interview with Euronews, EU Commissioner for Sport and Culture, Glenn Micallef, defends Europe’s football infrastructure, presents the EU’s first-ever strategic framework on culture and urges to improve working conditions for artists.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/11/13/eu-commissioner-slams-attempts-to-revive-football-super-league
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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NewsTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to the Europe Conversation, I'm Stefan Grobe.
00:11My guest today is Glenn Mikalif, EU Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Culture, Youth
00:18and Sport.
00:19Appropriately so, I should say, because at age 36, he's one of the youngest commissioners
00:25ever.
00:26Commissioner, thank you so much for coming on the program today.
00:29Thank you, Stefan, and thank you for this opportunity to speak about the areas of my
00:33portfolio, which are areas that are so dear to European citizens.
00:37And I'm all the more excited that you are joining me today, because you're just rushing
00:43out of a meeting with your fellow commissioners, where you presented and launched a new program,
00:49the Culture Compass for Europe.
00:52Now, tell us all about it.
00:53What is it and why do we need it?
00:55So, Stefan, for me, this is a very exciting day.
00:57We have just adopted in college the Culture Compass for Europe.
01:02It's a strategy which is both ambitious, strategic and impactful.
01:08And our objective here is for this to be a game changer for the cultural sector.
01:13It's a strategy that is a long-term vision of what we want to achieve in the cultural sector,
01:22essentially celebrating our diversity, our rich diversity in the European Union.
01:27And we say that Europe is a continent that embraces its unity and diversity.
01:33And diversity starts with culture.
01:36We have a diversity of languages in the European Union, 24 official languages, and 60 regional
01:43and minority languages.
01:44We have a rich heritage, both tangible and intangible heritage.
01:50Europe is home to the largest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
01:56And this is a sector that contributes significantly to our economy.
01:59So, to put this in perspective, this is a sector that contributes 200 billion euro annually in value added to our economies.
02:09It employs 8 million people.
02:12And 40% of our tourism is cultural tourism.
02:16So, these are significant contributions to our societies, to our democracy, but also to our competitiveness.
02:24That you mentioned democracy.
02:26Can culture be a counterforce to extremism, defending democracy?
02:33Look, culture, when artists are free to express themselves,
02:38when they are free to artistically express their voices,
02:44then democracy has a voice.
02:46So, what we want to do is we want to strengthen artistic freedom.
02:50We want to give the opportunity for people to be able to access more easily our culture and our heritage in Europe.
02:59Because this is one of the most effective shields that we have to division and extremism.
03:06And this is why I say continuously that if we invest in culture, it pays back twice, it pays today and tomorrow,
03:13but it also helps us promote the values that the union stands for,
03:18which is dialogue, communication, encouraging people to think critically and to empathize.
03:26And these are a translation of our values into action through culture.
03:30And how can art be shielded from political influence?
03:35You mentioned freedom of expression already, because as it happened,
03:40a concert with an Israeli conductor was cancelled because of the Gaza crisis some time ago.
03:48What's your take?
03:49Where are you coming down on this?
03:50Stefan, freedom of artistic expression is the essential precondition for the enjoyment of culture.
03:57So, our ambition here is to encourage and promote and protect and preserve our cultural diversity.
04:09We want to ensure that we have a strong political commitment.
04:12This is why we, in our cultural compass, one of the first flagship actions that we propose
04:17is a reaffirmation of the values that we hold so dear.
04:22At political level, this is why we're proposing a joint declaration between the parliament, the council, and the commission,
04:30making a strong political statement of what values we want to promote.
04:36You once said, I want culture to pay the rent, calling for real change in how Europe supports its creative forces, its artists.
04:46What prompted that heartfelt remark?
04:48I didn't say it once. I said it more than once, and I will continue to say it, because people create culture.
04:55And there is no art, there is no culture without artists and creative professionals.
04:59And the culture compass makes this very clear.
05:02Culture revolves through people, through artists, and to creators, and they are the ones who bring the cultural sector to life.
05:09So, they deserve dignity.
05:11The reality is here that in Europe, we have 8 million people working in this sector, which is roughly 4% of our working population.
05:22To put things into perspective, this is almost the amount of people that we have working in the agricultural sector.
05:29Yet, this is a sector that faces many challenges.
05:32So, you have atypical working hours, seasonality impacting the sector, poor working conditions, and lack of protection and support.
05:42Half of the people that are working in this sector say that they face poor working conditions.
05:47And close to 70% say that they have to work more than one job to be able to make ends meet.
05:55And this means that if we continue to allow this to happen, it will be very hard for the cultural sector to attract and to retain talent.
06:04So, if we want to unlock the potential that culture can contribute to our society, but also to our economies, this must change.
06:13And culture must pay the rent.
06:15And what exactly is the remedy?
06:16I mean, you're dealing with national governments who are in charge of culture.
06:21I'm getting to this.
06:22So, I've been, for the last 10 months, speaking to stakeholders in the sector, artists, writers, publishers.
06:33And many of them, they long to dedicate themselves to their artistic work.
06:38But they can't, because they don't afford it.
06:40And they feel, and this is the takeaway that I get from the consultations that I have, that we expect them to work for free, voluntarily, and without compensation.
06:53So, we're proposing a new charter on the rights of the artists, on the status of the European artists.
07:02We want to kickstart that discussion immediately in December, when we have the high-level roundtable on artists' working conditions.
07:10And this is a forum where we will also present best practices that have worked in member states to improve working conditions.
07:18You've been at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year.
07:23Is the European film industry strong enough to face the current challenges?
07:28And I name a few.
07:29Hollywood, digital transformation, fragmented production, and distribution.
07:34So, can I speak a little bit about my views on the digital transition?
07:41Because the digital transition and the new technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, are ones where we have to have a future outlook to.
07:53We have to embrace these technologies.
07:57In the cultural sector, these are technologies that are having a profound, they're leaving a profound impact.
08:04And these sectors and these industries, including the film industries, have been increasingly using these technologies.
08:11They are a huge opportunity for the sector, but only if the conditions are right.
08:17And our focus here should be for these sectors to embrace these technologies.
08:21For these technologies to contribute to more innovation and to the sectors becoming more competitive.
08:32And more importantly, that these technologies reinforce and enable human creativity.
08:39And this is why we also propose on the Culture Compass an AI strategy for the cultural and creative sectors to help transform the challenges that these sectors face into opportunities.
08:52And out there, there are genuine concerns in some of these sectors.
08:57As I said, I've been having consultations for the last 10 months.
09:00I've spoken to representatives, for example, of the books and publishing sector.
09:05And they are alarmed at the astonishing pace at which some books, some titles are being published.
09:13So, some authors publishing almost one title a day, which is shocking.
09:18And this is why we're proposing to build on the AI action plan, the initiatives by EVP Verkunen, and complement them with a dedicated strategy for AI in the cultural and creative sector industries.
09:34Where we propose three pillars for action.
09:37The first is to foster innovation in these sectors by promoting collaboration between artists and creators and the digital sector.
09:49Promoting the ethical use of artificial intelligence.
09:54And finally, identifying the support and the adaptations needed in the sector to be able to protect both content and the creators.
10:04And this is, to me, the fundamental point that rights holders, those who come up with the content, remain in control of their work.
10:16Now, I asked you about the film industry.
10:17Now, you're ending up about books.
10:21I want you to answer a film question, if I may.
10:24What are your favorite movies?
10:26Name one or two or three.
10:28My favorite ever would be Gladiator.
10:31It's a movie that was shot in Malta, where I come from.
10:38And it was released, if I'm not mistaken, in the year 2000.
10:43So I remember watching it in the cinema.
10:48You mentioned artificial intelligence.
10:50Do you see this, or let me ask it differently, how can AI be an inspiration for the arts?
10:59Well, the movie sector is a showcase of how artificial intelligence has been used, not now.
11:08It has been used for at least a decade.
11:10So I've been in one of my consultations leading up to the adoption of the Culture Compass.
11:16I've been to an investment, financed also, using European funding, of a film academy in Spain.
11:25This was an academy that was encouraging young students to enter the film industry, contributing to the industry,
11:36but also teaching them new skills that are needed to make productions even better than they are today.
11:44And this is what I mean when I say we have to embrace these technologies, use them to our advantages,
11:49and at the same time work with the creators and the content, those who come up with the content,
11:56to get something that we don't get from any machine, which is human imagination.
12:00That will never be replaced.
12:03I want to pivot to youth part of your portfolio as well.
12:09And as we were speaking about artificial intelligence, there is the concern that especially young people
12:15are suffering from the fact that many entry-level jobs in the service sector, white call jobs,
12:23are being replaced by artificial intelligence.
12:26And a lot of young people are having problems getting into the job market.
12:33Where do you come down on this?
12:35Is this a real concern?
12:37Look, these are technologies that will change the labour market.
12:42They will have structural changes on the labour market.
12:46But it makes it all the more important that we invest in initiatives that promote upskilling, reskilling, and quality jobs.
12:54That is what this commission has been very busy doing since the initial days of the mandate.
13:01Initiatives like the Union of Skills by EVP Minzato, the AI Action Plan by EVP Verkunen,
13:08all place a huge emphasis on the need for investments in this area to equip our workforces, youth and beyond,
13:19with the right tools that we need to make the best use of these technologies.
13:22Another problem that youngsters are facing is mental problems.
13:30And according to the World Health Organization,
13:32there are roughly 20% of young people in the EU who suffer from mental problems.
13:39I'm sure you are aware of that problem.
13:42What can we do?
13:43What can the commission do?
13:44What can the people in the council do to find a solution to this?
13:49Our figures are showing an even more alarming situation.
13:53This is no longer a priority.
13:55This is an emergency now.
13:57We have one in two young people,
13:59so half of our younger generation,
14:02that reports that they have struggled with some kind of mental health issue,
14:08be it depression, anxiety, or some other form of disorders.
14:13This is, to my, the way I see it, linked to quality of life.
14:22And here, again, I see a huge role for the cultural sector.
14:27To me, improving cultural offers for youth,
14:31but also more broadly for our populations,
14:34can be a healthy alternative, for example, to excessive screen time.
14:40Excessive screen time, which, in my opinion,
14:43is directly linked to the problems that we see with mental well-being,
14:49not to mention the negative psychological, physical,
14:54and emotional effects it has on younger generations.
14:57But improving cultural offers can actually make a huge difference.
15:02We see this also through our work promoting the intersection
15:06and the collaboration between culture and well-being.
15:10And this is one of the areas where we emphasize
15:13and put a lot of effort in the culture compass.
15:16So we want to improve the access to culture for youth, more specifically.
15:21What about the access to sports?
15:25There's the mental health, there's also the physical health,
15:28and the problem of obesity is becoming bigger and bigger.
15:32How do you get, especially young people, to be more active?
15:37We have an epidemic of inactivity nowadays.
15:40We have, in our populations, almost half of our citizens
15:44that are not active physically, not even an hour a week.
15:49And this is linked to a huge problem that we have
15:54in terms of non-communicable diseases,
15:58so cardiovascular issues, diabetes,
16:03and health expenditures that we see soaring.
16:08But beyond the expenditures, it's leaving an impact
16:11on the well-being of our population.
16:15So sport could be a free medicine, a free remedy
16:18to these challenges that we face.
16:22Our ideas, our thinking there is to promote sports
16:26even further among population.
16:28We've just come out of the European Week of Sport,
16:31where we have, across the European Union,
16:35towards the end of September,
16:38a celebration of sport at grassroots level,
16:41but also at higher level, encouraging people
16:43to be physically active.
16:45It's not about competition.
16:47It's not about, you know, going to the Olympics.
16:51It's about waking up in the morning,
16:53putting on your running shoes,
16:55going for a walk, and being active.
16:58That makes you physically stronger and healthier,
17:01but also mentally.
17:03I know you love football.
17:05Yes.
17:05You were a vice president of a club in Malta.
17:09Yes.
17:09You're no longer having that job, but you were.
17:15I want to know,
17:17how do you see attempts to revive
17:19the European Super League in Europe,
17:22independent from UEFA?
17:25I will tell you a very direct answer on this.
17:27Please.
17:28The Super League was, is, and will continue to be a mistake.
17:34This is not a good idea.
17:35This is not the way we innovate in sport.
17:39In Europe, we believe in open competition,
17:43in sport based on merit,
17:45and qualification to these European-level competitions
17:50should be based on sporting merit.
17:53And this way, we could also support
17:57our European domestic leagues
17:59to continue to be sustainable.
18:01Would that only cement the English dominance
18:05over European football,
18:07a Super League independent from UEFA?
18:10Look, it's no secret that European football,
18:13European sport, faces challenges
18:16from a sustainability point of view.
18:19There are various issues that are contributing to this,
18:22including heavy merch calendars,
18:25including pressures on the financial side.
18:31And that just means that we have to bring all the stakeholders,
18:36work together to find common solutions.
18:38It will take a common effort.
18:39It will take stakeholders around,
18:42sitting around the same table,
18:44in an inclusive way,
18:46accepting everyone around the table.
18:47I've been shocked to see over the last few days
18:50discussions on athletes' welfare, for example,
18:54without the union representing the athletes
18:56being around the table.
18:58No, these are discussions that we need to have
19:00in an inclusive environment
19:02with all stakeholders around the table
19:04and working towards common solutions.
19:07And a question to the football fan then.
19:10How do we stop the English dominance
19:12in football in Europe?
19:14It needs investment, investment and collaboration.
19:20And, of course, there are ways where we could innovate,
19:25like maybe exploring innovative formats
19:29for the way that our leagues are organized.
19:33But that doesn't mean that we take away sport
19:35away from the communities.
19:38I think most of the clubs in Europe
19:41owe their successes to the local communities.
19:45And that is something
19:46that we have to preserve for sure.
19:49All right.
19:50Commissioner Glenn-McCullough,
19:51thank you so much for coming on the show today.
19:54Thank you so much for coming on the show.
19:56Thank you so much for coming on the show.
19:58Thank you so much for coming on the show.
20:00Thank you so much for coming on the show.
20:01Thank you so much for coming on the show.
20:02Thank you so much for coming on the show.
20:03Thank you so much for coming on the show.
20:04Thank you so much for coming on the show.
20:05Thank you so much for coming on the show.
20:06Thank you so much for coming on the show.
20:07Thank you so much for coming on the show.
20:08Thank you so much for coming on the show.
20:09Thank you so much for coming on the show.
20:10Thank you so much for coming on the show.
20:11Thank you so much for coming on the show.
20:12Thank you so much for coming on the show.
20:13Thank you so much for coming on the show.
20:14Thank you so much for coming on the show.
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