Spain

European Commission: Commission Authorises a EUR 12 Million Support Scheme for Dubbing and Subtitling Films in Catalan

IRIS 2010-5:1/3

Press release

Council of Europe

The European Commission has approved a EUR 12 million Spanish scheme to support the dubbing and subtitling of films in Catalan. The scheme is in line with EU rules that allow State subsidies for cultural objectives and, in the case in question, for the promotion of multilingualism and cultural diversity.

The scheme notified by the Spanish government aims to promote the use of the Catalan language, in particular in the film industry. Around 800 films released in Spain every year are dubbed in Spanish, while only 20-25 films are dubbed in Catalan. A further 10-15 are subtitled in Catalan. These figures are provided by the Spanish authorities.

They point out that Catalan is the main language of Catalonia, where it is understood by 95% of the population, spoken by 78% and read by 82%. A total of 62% also write it. But, as most inhabitants of Catalonia also understand Spanish, few commercial film distributors consider spending money on dubbing and/or subtitling films in Catalan when they have Spanish versions of the films.

The Commission examined the measure under Article 107(3) (d) of the Treaty, which allows aid for cultural objectives and in this case to promote cultural diversity and multilingualism.

The amount of aid is €12 million to be granted by the regional government of Catalonia until 31 December 2015.

The non-confidential version of the decision will be made available under the case number N33/10 in the State Aid Register on the DG Competition website once any confidentiality issues have been resolved. New publications of State aid decisions on the internet and in the Official Journal are listed in the State Aid Weekly e-News.