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UEFA President meets European Commission President

UEFA President Michel Platini has met the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, in Brussels to discuss the biggest challenges facing European football.

The meeting in Brussels
The meeting in Brussels ©European Commission

UEFA President Michel Platini today met the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker. The meeting took place in Brussels, at the Commission’s headquarters, where Michel Platini brought forward the biggest challenges facing European football.

Following the Arrangement for Cooperation between UEFA and the European Commission in October 2014, this meeting underlined again the strong relationship between the EU’s executive body and the European football governing body.

The topics covered at the meeting included the prohibition of the third-party ownership of players ('TPO'), which is essential for the healthy development of football. Both Mr Platini and Mr Juncker agreed that TPO raises important concerns regarding the integrity of competitions, money-laundering and other criminal activities, as well as some broader ethical and human-rights considerations.

Mr Platini also stressed the positive impact of the Financial Fair Play initiative, which has led to a drastic fall in losses for European clubs from more than €1.7bn in 2011 to slightly more than €400m in 2014, and the reduction of overdue payables from €57m in 2011 to €6m in 2015. Mr Juncker acknowledged that Financial Fair Play is a key tool to achieve financial stability, transparency and to promote better governance within sport.

Another key area covered was the training of players at local level. The UEFA President explained that the development of new homegrown talents is one of the core activities of football clubs and that, accordingly, policies designed to encourage the local training and education of athletes contribute to promoting the wider interests of football in Europe.

Finally, talks centred on the UEFA EURO 2020 final round, and the role it will play in enhancing some of the most fundamental social, educational and cultural values shared throughout the European Union.

Speaking after the meeting today, Michel Platini said: "I am pleased that the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, and I share so much common ground. He took the matters discussed seriously and we look forward to working together in order to strengthen European football on and off the pitch."

The meeting occurred alongside the first edition of the European week of sport, an initiative of the European Commission, which aims to promote physical activity and sport in Europe.

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