Malta has signed the Council of Europe Convention on co-production of TV/streaming series, the Culture Ministry said in a statement, in a first-of-its-kind international legal framework focused specifically on series.

Malta is one of the first nine countries to sign at the earliest opportunity. The signing took place at Series Mania festival in Lille, France.

The agreement aims to increase international co-productions and create new opportunities for Maltese producers and creatives, the Ministry said.

It also aims to strengthen European collaboration in the field of television, it said.

The practical benefits of the convention are that it improves rights protection, profit-sharing frameworks, and cross-border collaboration. It also facilitates the mobility of professionals, both technical and artistic, it said.

The convention builds on Malta's recent Eurimages membership and existing participation in cinematographic co-production convention.

It signals Malta's push to expand its role in Europe's audiovisual ecosystem, the Ministry said.

Although the signature is not final implementation, the government will now begin domestic procedures to adopt it, the statement said.

"This Convention reflects Malta's commitment to creating new opportunities for our audiovisual sector and strengthening European cooperation in this field," Culture Minister Owen Bonnici said