Guardans joins European Broadcasting Union

Guardans takes up the newly created role from today at the EBU, which is the largest association of national broadcasters in the world, promoting collaboration between the different countries public broadcasters and encouraging the sharing of audiovisual content.  

 The EBU had conducted an international selection process before appointing Guardans who will be based in the organization’s office in Geneva, Switzerland.

“I am very happy that Mr Guardans will be joining the executive team of the EBU. His contribution will be very valuable in this recently created position. His broad experience of policy and law both at the national and international level will be of great use to the members of the EBU and will help to promote and communicate our messages in a more efficient way, in particular with relation to the policies of the European Union,” said Ingrid Deltenre, director general of the EBU.

“This is a unique opportunity for me. I am looking forward to continue working on the excellent record of the EBU both in Brussels and at an international level, ensuring that the voice of the European public broadcasters is heard in debates on audiovisual policy,” said Guardans.

Guardans has been out of work for six months after he was sacked in October last year from his role at ICAA by Spain’s culture minister Angeles Gonzalez-Sinde and replaced by Carlos Cuadros. He told Screen at the time that the minister no longer had confidence in him and that he wished he had “any other objective reason to deal with.”

He is known for being an outspoken person and had riled some producers in Spain, but was the driving force behind a new national film fund scheme that encourages more commercial, internationally minded projects to be made in Spain.

Previously Guardans served as a liberal member of the European Parliament Committee on Education and Culture.