European Parliament
Izaskun Bilbao Barandica  (ALDE ).
(ES)
Madam President, I wish to express my support for the values embodied in the report that was approved today. After the recent events in Egypt, it is particularly fitting to set the principle of fair play, both on and off the sporting field, as the cornerstone of European philosophy on sport.
I also agree with a more open model for image right management for large sporting events. It is for that reason that I think the situation regarding radio stations and professional football in Spain is terrible.
I regret the lost opportunity to play down the debate about national teams in Europe with this report. I come from a stateless nation, like Scotland or Wales. These constituent nations of the United Kingdom compete in international competitions with their own teams. We Basques would like to have our own Basque teams too, and we would have no issue with placing our
ikurriña
, our national colours, alongside the European flag on our shirts. This is not currently possible. An opportunity was lost today.

