The Cinema Law passes its first procedure in Congress by overturning the amendments to the entire PP and Vox

The Cinema and Audiovisual Culture Bill passed its first vote in Congress this Thursday with the rejection of the two full amendments with which PP and Vox sought to overturn a norm that, as most groups have agreed, arrives “late” although with the need to update an “outdated” text from 2007.

The Plenary Session of the Congress of Executive Deputies has rejected both amendments in their entirety, thanks to 175 votes against, except for those of PP, Vox and UPN (172) who have supported the return of the norm. The vote did not have any abstentions.

The Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, has defended that the Government’s objective is to move towards “the best possible law” and to do so he has appealed to consensus among political forces. In his response to Vox’s amendment, Urtasun has criticized his position, linking it to models that, in his opinion, involve the dismantling of public cultural institutions.

Regarding the PP amendment, Urtasun has reproached the ‘popular’ deputy Sol Cruz-Guzmán for having engaged in “politicking” this Thursday and has assured that she has helped the PP “from the first minute.” “We have met many times to offer him consensus, but he has never wanted it,” he stated.

In this sense, Urtasun has asked not to be accused of the law arriving two years late because “if it arrives two years late it is because they have been blocking it” and has maintained that the audiovisual sector has not asked to stop the law, but precisely its approval.

“Your amendment to the entirety is an amendment against the will of the sector. You have also promised the sector a new law, but that promise is very implausible because it would come from the hand of those who have just told us on this platform that they want to eliminate public policies on cinema. And that is impossible,” he asserted.

In his first intervention, Urtasun has demanded a standard “on par” with the success of Spanish audiovisual production and has disgraced the PP for trying to stop its parliamentary processing despite recognizing, he said, that the current regulations are “outdated” and need to be updated.

Likewise, he has criticized the Vox amendment, which he has accused of being based on an “alleged subsidy culture”, and has defended that public policies to support cinema exist throughout the European Union.

VOX: “GHOST FILMS”

The popular deputy Sol Cruz Guzmán, who has addressed Urtasun as a “failed minister”, has questioned the management of the Ministry in recent years and has accused the Sánchez Government of not having adequately executed the European funds or having developed pending reforms of the cultural sector, such as the Artist’s Statute or the Copyright Law.

In his speech, he reproached Urtasun for taking three years to promote the Cinema Law, in addition to suggesting that the text reaches Congress in a context of “scandals” and “end of cycle.”

The ‘popular’, however, has reached out to the groups and the film sector itself to negotiate a text “from scratch” that promotes an “ambitious” law for Spanish cinema, which it has defined as an element of the country’s cultural cohesion.

For his part, the Vox deputy, José Ramírez del Río, has defined the Executive’s rule as “practically identical” to that promoted by the previous minister Miquel Iceta. “This law was already presented by Iceta three years ago. Therefore, I find the ardor that (Urtasun) has put into defending a law that is not his striking,” he said.

THE AMENDMENTS OF THE PP AND VOX, AN EXERCISE OF “FILIBUSTERISM”

The socialist deputy Marc Lamuà has accused the PP and Vox of presenting amendments in response to a strategy of parliamentary blockade. Lamuà has described these amendments as an “exercise in filibustering” designed, in his opinion, to prevent Congress from continuing to legislate and the project from advancing to the amendment phase.

In his speech, he defended that the debate is not about the perfection of the text, but about allowing its processing so that it can be improved later with the participation of the audiovisual sector and the rest of the parliamentary groups.

The socialist spokesperson has reproached the PP for, despite criticizing the delay of the rule, intending to return it to the Government and delay its approval even further. At the same time, Lamuà has addressed Vox for its “savagery” in the amendment and has criticized it for presenting that document without thinking about improving the law.

“It is a letter gathering similar to firewood to light the fire more. The idea of ​​Vox de España is so small that it fits in Perejil, that last rock of the empire that they long for every day,” he stated.

AGREEMENT ON CATALAN AND TAX INCENTIVES

Junts spokesperson, Josep Maria Cruset, recalled that, despite the “repeated non-compliance” of the Government in other areas, the cinema law was part of a series of laws that were exempt from this political blockade due to agreements already closed or in an advanced stage of negotiation. As detailed, the agreement incorporates a “very powerful footprint” of Junts.

Cruset has indicated that Catalan will have specific protection through a reserve of funds from the cinema support system, as well as a greater screen quota and measures to encourage the exhibition of productions in Catalan in commercial theaters.

THE STANDARD HAS A BASIS TO CONTINUE “CORRECTING ITSELF”

The BNG spokesperson, Nestor Rego, has defended the incorporation of multilingualism, with special attention to Galician, while the PNV spokesperson in Congress, Joseba Andoni Agirretexea, has considered that the text proposed by Urtasun “has sufficient basis to continue working” and that its shortcomings can be corrected through partial amendments.

For her part, the spokesperson for EH Bildu, Mertxe Aizpurua, has valued the reactivation of the Cinema law as “good news for the sector and for society”, and has defended the need and urgency to update a regulatory framework that she considers outdated. In this sense, he has indicated that the new law must adapt to these changes and correct previous errors, citing among them the definition of “independent producer” introduced in the 2022 audiovisual law.