The Government of Spain approves a new procedure to renew RTVE's board of directors

Moncloa Palace, Madrid

The Minister for Digital Transformation and Public Function, Óscar López, and the Minister for Education, Vocational Training and Sports and Government Spokesperson, Pilar Alegría, explain the agreements adopted by the Executive (Pool Moncloa / Jose Manuel Álvarez)

The Council of Ministers has approved a royal decree-law to facilitate the renewal of the Board of Directors of Corporación Radio Televisión Española ( RTVE) and thus overcome the interim situation of its current composition.

The Minister for Digital Transformation and Public Function, Óscar López, recalled that for the last four years RTVE has had a single director and three presidents. In addition, the mandate of six of the ten members of its Board of Directors has expired. "This management instability is not desirable in any public or private company," he said.

Óscar López argued that the aim of the regulation is to "overcome this situation of deadlock and provisionality in the governing body of a company of RTVE's importance," which has proven credibility and public support. In this regard, the minister pointed out that TVE is the second most watched television channel in Spain, having increased its audience in the last year.

A more pluralistic RTVE Board of Directors

The Minister for Digital Transformation and Public Function, Óscar López, at the press conference after the Council of Ministers | Pool Moncloa /Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

In order to reinforce pluralism in RTVE's governing bodies, the Board of Directors will have fifteen members. Eleven of them will be elected by the Lower House of Parliament and four by the Upper House by a two-thirds majority, according to López.

The composition of the Board shall respect the principle of balanced presence between men and women, as laid down in the Organic Law on Equal Representation and Balanced Presence of Men and women and other legislation on parity.

In addition, the royal decree-law incorporates an unblocking formula. In the event that a two-thirds majority is not reached on the first ballot in either chamber, the election of the Board shall be by simple majority.

Óscar López has guaranteed that with this formula and with the current Parliament, RTVE's next Board of Directors "will be the most pluralistic in history."

A more stable and professional RTVE

To ensure stability in the governance of the corporation, the directors will be elected for a six-year term of office, without partial renewal, as at present, and will only be eligible for re-election once.

The minister also stressed that Parliament will approve framework mandates for the Corporation in which the general objectives of the public service function will be specified. These framework mandates will be valid for a period of eight years, which can be extended, and from them derive the programme-contracts agreed by the Government with Corporación RTVE.

The third key to the standard is the professionalism of the members of the Board of Directors. The text re-establishes the exclusive dedication of RTVE's directors, who will be subject to the regime of incompatibilities of senior officials of the General State Administration and also to that established in commercial legislation for directors. Their function shall be incompatible with appointment as a Member of Parliament.

In order to promote a new Board, the Presidencies of the Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament will have to initiate the election of the members of the Board within 15 calendar days of the entry into force of the decree. Furthermore, the process must be concluded within 15 days of its commencement, meaning that the new Board must be elected within 30 days of the publication of the regulation in the Official State Gazette.

The minister announced the immediate start of parliamentary negotiations for the validation of the royal decree-law and the composition of the board of directors. Óscar López has stressed that the Government will guarantee the "normal" functioning of RTVE, "an essential public service in the promotion of knowledge and the dissemination of constitutional and civic values, culture and language" and "a fundamental channel of communication for citizens."

New waste management and water reuse regulations

The Minister for Education, Vocational Training and Sports and Government Spokesperson, Pilar Alegría, during her speech at the press conference after the Council of Ministers | Pool Moncloa /Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

The Minister for Education, Vocational Training and Sports and Government Spokesperson, Pilar Alegría, has announced that the Council of Ministers has approved the Royal Decree on the management of waste from tobacco products with filters and filters marketed for use with tobacco products. Alegría reported that this regulation derives from European legislation aimed at reducing the impact of plastics on the environment.

The Council of Ministers has also approved a second Royal Decree approving the Regulation on water reuse, a strategy that constitutes an important source of supply, freeing up other water resources of better quality. The regulation addresses, firstly, the reclamation of urban waste water to achieve the quality required for the uses to which it is to be put and, secondly, the private use that may be made of reclaimed water.

Miguel Carballeda, Grand Cross of Sporting Merit

The Minister for Sports announced that the Council of Ministers has awarded the Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Sporting Merit to Miguel Carballeda, the President of the Spanish Paralympic Committee, who will leave his position in this organisation at the end of October.

"With this recognition we want to thank him for his work for the full equality of people with disabilities also in the field of sport," explained Alegría, who recalled that during the 20 years in which Carballeda has presided over the Paralympic Committee, 217 medals have been won, 40 of them at the Paralympic Games in Paris.

Current affairs: Political events of the week

The minister and spokesperson began her speech by recalling the most important political events of the week. Alegría referred first of all to the high-level meeting between the Spanish and Portuguese governments to be held tomorrow in Faro. At this summit with the "brother, neighbour and partner" country, as she explained, the bilateral relations between the two governments will be deepened in order to strengthen their collaboration.

Pilar Alegría also recalled that the next round of meetings with the regional presidents will be held on Friday, with the presence on this occasion of the presidents of the Balearic Islands and Extremadura. The spokesperson informed that the meetings will end on 22 November with the presidents of Catalonia, Castilla y León and the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla. In the minister's opinion, "the meetings are being extremely useful, fundamentally for citizens, because in these meetings, issues that affect and improve people's lives are addressed and worked on."

On this point, the spokesperson underlined the Government's commitment to improving the economic and social situation and as examples of this management highlighted the figures for Social Security membership, the reduction in temporary employment, the 54% increase in the minimum wage, the reduction in the gender pay gap and economic growth. "This is the real Spain brand, of which all the citizens of our country can and should feel proud," she concluded.

Non official translation