Spain

[ES] Bill on Creation of National Regulatory Authority for Broadcasting Sector

IRIS 2002-2:1/9

Alberto Pérez Gómez

Entidad publica empresarial RED.ES

Spain is one of the few countries within the European Union and the Council of Europe in which the main authority for the audiovisual sector is not an independent regulatory body. There is a regulatory authority in Catalonia (Consell de l'Audiovisual de Catalunya) and in Navarra (Consejo Audiovisual de Navarra) (see IRIS 2001-9: 10) and, at the national level, there is an independent authority, the Comisión del Mercado de las Telecomunicaciones (Telecommunications Market Commission), which has some powers concerning the audiovisual sector. However, at the national level, the authority that has powers to enforce most of the provisions related to Spanish media law is the Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología (Ministry for Science and Technology).

In November 2001, an opposition party, Izquierda Unida (the United Left), presented a Bill on the creation of a national regulatory authority for the broadcasting sector. The text of this Bill is almost identical to that of two previous Bills on the matter presented before the Parliament by the United Left in December 1997 and in May 2000. Those Bills were rejected by the main party in the Congreso de los Diputados (the Lower Chamber of Parliament), the Partido Popular (the Popular Party) on the basis that they did not provide adequate solutions to some problems raised by convergence and that it would be better to wait until the Government, in accordance with its electoral commitment on this matter, presented its own Bill on the creation of a national regulatory authority for the broadcasting sector (see IRIS 2001-2: 8). In November 2000, the representatives of the Popular Party indicated in the Parliament that their Bill would be presented during 2001. As this deadline has not been adhered to, the United Left considered it necessary to re-open the debate on the issue by presenting this Bill.