ROMANIA / The EBU excludes Romania from Eurovision 2016

On April 23^rd the European Broadcasting Union decided to exclude Romania from the Eurovision Song Contest. TVR will not broadcast either that event or the Euro Cup soccer matches from June 10^th to July 10^th, in which the Romanian team will be playing.

The EBU and the Romanian government failed to reach a “satisfactory agreement” to regularize TVR’s €10 million debt before the deadline expired on April 21^st.

The Romanian public television will nevertheless remain an EBU member, even if it no longer benefits from its services or activities (broadcasting rights, exchange of news, legal and technical assistance, media analysis, lobbying).

Ingrid Deltenre, the EBU’s Director General, expressed her regret at the situation: “We are disappointed the Romanian government has not responded to the efforts we have made to resolve this issue,” she said in a statement, adding that “TVR’s debt jeopardizes the financial stability of the EBU itself.”

For its part, the Ministry of Finance suggested opening bankruptcy proceedings against the TVR, “which could lead to a major reorganization of the company,” according to Ingrid Deltenre.

Source : communiqué