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On 3 November 2003, a new Telecommunications Act was adopted to replace Act 11/1998 on Telecommunications (see IRIS 2003-6: 12 and IRIS 1998-6: 9). The main goal of this new Act is to implement into Spanish Law the new EC Electronic Communications Framework, which was approved in April 2002 (see IRIS 2002-3: 4).

On 7 August 2003, the Spanish Official Gazette published Order 2240/2003 that lays down the rules for the application of the Statutory Instrument 526/2002, which regulates the measures of support and promotion of the film industry and of film co-productions in Spain. As the Statutory Instrument established multiple subsidies, this Order rationalizes them and sets out the procedure for its application, as well as the procedure for obtaining certificates of Spanish nationality for films. The applicants for these grants have to be registered at the Register for Audiovisual Companies and must complete...

In March 2003, the Spanish Government presented a new Bill on Telecommunications, which is expected to replace Act 11/1998 on Telecommunications. The main goal of this new Bill is to implement into Spanish Law the new EC Electronic Communications Framework, which was approved in April 2002 and should be incorporated into national law not later than 24 July 2003 (see IRIS 2002-3: 4). The new legislation tries to ensure a coherent regulatory framework that will apply to all transmission infrastructures, irrespective of the types of services carried over them (the so-called "horizontal" approach)....

The national film institutes of the 15 Member States of the European Union have made a common declaration on the importance of State aid for European films. This is the first time the film institutes have made a common statement. The national film institutes are publicly funded and were founded to support national and European film culture. In this common declaration the institutes express their concerns regarding the necessity for State aid for European films. The institutes are worried that the audio-visual sector in Europe will be left solely to the chances of free market forces. In the declaration,...

On 29 November 2002, the Spanish Council of Ministers decided to approve the proposed merger between Sogecable and Via Digital, the companies that manage the two leading Spanish digital pay-TV platforms. The case had been referred to the Spanish authorities by the European Commission at their request in August 2002 (see IRIS 2002-9: 8). The company resulting from the merger will be controlled by the two main partners of Sogecable, Canal Plus (a subsidiary of Vivendi Universal) and PRISA (the main Spanish multimedia group), and by the main stakeholder of Via Digital, the Spanish telecommunications...