ES - Non-adoption of Bill on Creation of Broadcasting Regulatory Authority

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. At the national level, the authority with the 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 parliamentary group, Izquierda Unida (the United Left), presented a Bill on the creation of a national regulatory authority for the broadcasting sector (see IRIS 2002-2: 6). It was the third Bill on the matter presented before the Parliament by this party; the two previous ones having been presented in December 1997 and in May 2000.

In April 2002, this last Bill was 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 it 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.

The opposition parties noted that in November 2000, the representatives of the Popular Party had voted against the previous Bill presented by United Left, arguing that the Popular Party would present its own Bill during 2001, and that this deadline had not been adhered to. The representatives of the Popular Party answered that the Government is working on an amendment of the legal framework governing the audiovisual sector and that the new legislation should be approved before the next national elections (due in 2004) take place.

Diario de Sesiones del Congreso de los Diputados - Pleno, VII Legislatura - nº 153,  Sesión Plenaria nº 147, 16.04.2002, pp. 7747-7756
http://www.congreso.es/public_oficiales/L7/CONG/DS/PL/PL_153.PDF
ES

Alberto Pérez Gómez
Entidad Pública Empresarial Red.es