Minister Han with the European Commissioner for Sport on the economic and social impacts in the European Union

SLOVENIA, February 23 - The main purpose of the discussion was to develop a common European approach to measuring the economic and social impacts of sport and to systematically place sport among the development and economic policies of the European Union. During the discussion, Minister Han and Commissioner Micallef stressed that sport goes beyond top results – it has a significant impact on the health of the public, social inclusion, employment, infrastructure development, tourism and economic competitiveness.

Glenn Micallef, European Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport, said: "Slovenia may be one of the smaller member states, but its voice and influence in the world of sport are such that they resonate across Europe and beyond."

Minister Han pointed out that, through the reorganisation of government, Slovenia has brought sport under the umbrella of economy, tourism and sport, as it sees it as a strategic investment of the state.

"Sport is not just competitions and medals. It is an investment in people's health, in social cohesion and in the competitiveness of our economy. If we want sport to have an appropriate place in European policies, we must also be able to accurately measure its effects," the minister emphasised.

Slovenia confirms this direction with record investments. The annual sport programme in 2026 will amount to 59.1 million euro, which is almost three times more than in 2022, when it was 21.8 million euro.

Minister Han called on the European Commission to provide continued technical and financial support for a common European approach to sport statistics.

"With high-quality and comparable data, we can better plan the promotion of mainstream sporting activities among residents, improve infrastructure, attract international events, and create an encouraging environment for private investment in sport. However, we must not forget that the foundation of every successful sport policy is clubs and associations at the local level, which represent the basic level of sport organisation in accordance with the key characteristics of the European model of sport. That is where an individual's sporting journey begins. Only on the basis of facts and while simultaneously strengthening the grassroots level will we be able to give sport greater weight in political and budgetary discussions at the national and European levels," the minister concluded.

European Commissioner Glenn Micallef added: "We had a good and constructive discussion this morning on the European sport model and I look forward to working closer with like-minded countries like Slovenia in developing our sport strategy."

The event in Lipica thus confirmed the joint commitment to making sport a measurable, strategically managed and systemically supported part of European development policies.