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European Parliament passes vote to recognise and fund esports

Last week, the European Parliament passed a vote for a resolution calling its member nations to create a long-term... Harrison | 14. November 2022

Last week, the European Parliament passed a vote for a resolution calling its member nations to create a long-term comprehensive strategy for supporting the video game industry in Europe.

The vote successfully passed the resolution with a massive win of 560 favoring the vote, 34 standing against the vote, and 16 abstentions. Following the vote, esports is now considered as an integral part of European heritage.  

Why this vote matters

The successful passing of this vote means that the European Parliament recognizes the value of esports and the value that the video game industry could bring to EU countries. Moreover, the resolution will offer economic and cultural support to further develop the industry in Europe. 

Previously, the EU has only provided limited support for domestic video game production and only partial funding was available through the Creative Europe and Horizon Europe programs. However, these funding efforts were deemed questionable and insufficient. 

Thanks to the successful passing of this vote, the esports and gaming industry will now likely gain access to EU funding, which can be counted as a crucial win for the esports and gaming industry’s future, both in financial terms and legitimate terms.

France’s impact

France can be counted as the first country in the EU to recognize the value of the esports and video game industry, which likely prepared the grounds for the EU to do the same. 

However, the country did ban the use of the word “esports” earlier this year in order to “preserve the purity of language”, substituting it with the Frech counterpart “jeu vidéo de compétition. More gaming-related terms received their official French substitutes, including the words “pro gamer” substituting to “joueur professionnel”  and “streamer” to “joueur-animateur en direct”.

Furthermore, the French president Emmanuel Macron even stated that he wants esports to take part in the 2024 Olympics that will be held in Paris.

Future of esports in EU

The successful passing of this resolution can be considered a highly positive change for the esports and gaming industry in Europe, as it now calls upon the individual European nations to develop their own strategies on how to support the development of the video game industry in the EU as a whole. 

Furthermore, the resolution includes numerous additions, such as the strengthening of IP laws with regard to combat match-fixing and other interference that could damage the integrity of the esports scene. Moreover, it also promotes the non-stereotypical representation of women in video games, addressing dealing with toxic workplace culture and increasing the number of education courses that are devoted to video games. The resolution is not binding, so the nations that are EU members will not be forced to implement the suggested strategies.

There is still a lot of work to be done in order to build a sustainable esports and gaming ecosystem in Europe, however, the resolution could be a pinnacle point in esports history, as it brings forth a new dawn for gaming and esports in a major region such as Europe. 

 

Header: Son Tung Tran / Pexels