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1. Existence of a national strategy

2. Scope and contents

3. Responsible authority for the implementation of the strategy

4. Revisions/updates

Existence of a national strategy

There is currently no National Strategy in Spain to make culture a State policy. The last update on the matter was the Plan de Cultura 2020, which was developed within three years. It consisted of 150 projects structured into five general objectives:

Promote a quality cultural offer.

• To update the legal framework for the protection of culture.
• To promote a social alliance for culture
• Extend Spanish culture beyond our borders.
• To promote creative activity

However, as stated in its evaluation, it was more of an "internal management instrument of the Superior Body than a Uniform and Comprehensive Plan". After the crisis caused by COVID-19, the main objective has been the economic recovery of the country through the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan for the distribution of European Funds.

Scope and contents

This Plan recognizes the indispensable value of culture for society and its capacity to generate wealth and employment, and therefore estimates a final investment of 325 million euros to strengthen the value chain of the Spanish cultural industry.

The strategic axes from which it is approached are: competitiveness, the revitalization and cohesion of the territory, and the digitalization and sustainability of the major cultural services. It contemplates the following actions (component 24):

• Development of the Artist's Statute and Promotion of investment, cultural patronage and participation: Adaptation of the legal, fiscal and labor regulatory framework of the cultural sector to address certain particularities of the sector and encourage private investment in the cultural sector.
• Strengthening copyright and related rights.
• Strengthening the competitiveness of cultural industries.
• Dynamization of culture throughout the territory, facilitating access to culture, sustainability and consolidation of the sector throughout the territory.
• Digitalization and promotion of major cultural services. Actions aimed at making management more efficient through digitalization and attracting talent for large cultural services.

It also contemplates specific actions for the audiovisual sector, such as the reform of its regulatory framework and a program for the promotion, modernization and digitalization of the audiovisual sector (component 25) and for youth as a priority actor for action.

Responsible authority for the implementation of the strategy

Royal Decree-Law 36/2020 defines governance aimed at facilitating decision-making and guaranteeing effective control and auditing of funds. To this end, the following are created:

• Commission for Recovery, Transformation and Resilience, headed by the President of the Government and comprising all Ministries. Its function is the direction and coordination of the Plan.
• Technical Committee, formed by a maximum of twenty members with competences and experience in the management of European funds and other profiles necessary for the management of the Plan.
• Monitoring Unit, under the Presidency of the Government, which has the objective of monitoring the Plan.
• Authority responsible for the Mechanism for Recovery and Resilience, attributed to the General Secretariat of European Funds of the Ministry of Finance, which will be accountable to the European institutions.
• Control authority for the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism, which is assigned to the General Intervention of the Administration of the State (IGAE). will implement a financial management control and audit system, which will be fully interoperable with the Community systems.

Revisions/updates

The mobilization of the Funds allocated to this plan is expected to last until 2026, although a first impulse has been reinforced between 2021 and 2023 for a greater impact on the recovery. In the III implementation report of the Plan, corresponding to the year 2023, these actions have been carried out:

• Introduction of tax incentives in the cultural industry through the transposition of European directives and other regulations.
• Plan "Spain Audiovisual Hub of Europe" to strengthen the national role as an international platform for production, investment and talent.
• Law on Cinema and Audiovisual Culture, currently in the parliamentary process.
• Territorial Culture Ecosystem Plan to expand and diversify the cultural offer in non-urban areas, with a budget of 20 million euros to develop 400 cultural proposals throughout the national territory throughout 2022-2023.