- The Government of Spain has neglected the institution’s requests in the draft bill. The Council of Euskalgintza has called for a minimum quota for the work carried out in Euskera, and will now meet with the agents to ensure that this is the case.
The agreement stipulates that on video platforms such as Netflix, HBO or Amazon Prime, at least 50% of the share "in the official language of the Spanish State or in one of the official languages of the autonomous communities" in the case of European works. But in this quantity it is not specified what the minimum should be to produce in Catalan, Basque and Galician.
The Basque Council of Culture has denounced the decision in a joint communiqué. The association, together with Hekimen, Tokikom, Topagunea and Euskaraz Displays, transferred its contribution to the draft law to the Government in July. The Government has not accepted the proposal for compulsory Basque quotas which had been requested at that time in order to be able to implement them.
The Secretary-General of the Council, Paul Bilbao, said that this decision could lead to the disappearance of languages such as the Basque language in the audiovisual field. “The Government had the opportunity to include in this second draft measures to ensure the use of its own languages, but did not, and reopened the possibility of not allocating any space to languages like ours.”
The draft law was amended not only by agents in favor of the Basque Country, but also by social agents in favor of the Galician or Catalan. For example, the Catalan Audiovisual Council (CAC) has requested that 50% of works in State languages be in Catalan, Basque or Galician.
They will continue the petition
The Council has announced that they will continue with the proposal for the quotas submitted to them. “We have shared responsibilities and everyone has to carry out their duties so that the law does not advance as it is,” they added. It is for this reason that a joint response strategy with the social partners and the political parties is to be agreed in the coming days. First, they want to meet with the associations that helped them make their contributions and with the other agents of the State. Next, it is intended to organise a series of meetings with the parties represented in Madrid in the Congress.