Spain

[ES] Spanish government approves Cinema and Audiovisual Culture Bill

IRIS 2024-7:1/25

Maria Bustamante

European Audiovisual Observatory

The Spanish government has revived the Proyecto de ley del Cine y de la Cultura Audiovisual (Cinema and Audiovisual Culture Bill) after it was put on hold last year following the dissolution of the Cortes Generales (Congress of Deputies and Senate) and the calling of elections by President Pedro Sanchez in June 2023. Various political groups had already tabled amendments to the bill, which had been endorsed by the Council of Ministers in December 2022 and submitted to parliamentary procedures in March 2023. In particular, the proposal of the right-wing political group Vox was rejected in its entirety. However, following the suspension of the legislative process, the bill will now need to go through the entire process from the beginning. For more information about the bill, see IRIS 2023-5:1/23.

Even though the cinema sector has changed significantly in recent years, the current Spanish regulatory framework is still based on the 2007 Ley del Cine (Cinema Law). To bring the legislation into line with the realities of the sector, the Council of Ministers again approved the Cinema and Audiovisual Culture Bill on 11 June 2024, meaning that it could be submitted to parliament for urgent debate. Under the urgent procedure, the time limits that apply to the standard legislative process are cut in half. The new law will replace the 2007 law.

The bill is expected to enter into force before 2025 as part of the government’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan. Although the text is identical to the 2022 version, it will need to be discussed in parliament and parliamentary groups will be able to table amendments.

Culture minister Ernest Urtasun said that the law is designed to protect and promote the development of Spain’s film industry and audiovisual heritage. It aims to strengthen the whole value chain, from script writing to cinema screening.

Particular support is earmarked for independent producers, who will benefit from priority access to film funding.

The Spanish Ley de la Propriedad Intelectual (Intellectual Property Law) will apply to all Spanish and foreign stakeholders involved in film production on Spanish soil, focusing on copyright protection.

This law considers the changes in the sector since the 2007 law entered into force, as well as implementing the relevant European regulations.


References





Related articles

IRIS 2023-5:1/23 [ES] The Spanish Congress launches the parliamentary processing of the new Cinema and Audiovisual Culture Law

This article has been published in IRIS Legal Observations of the European Audiovisual Observatory.