Overview
- Thursday’s assembly will consider a participation vote only if broadcasters judge the new protections insufficient, the EBU said.
- The reforms cut each fan’s televotes from 20 to 10, bolster professional juries, ban third‑party or government‑backed promotion, and expand fraud monitoring and security.
- Public broadcasters from Slovenia, Ireland, Spain and the Netherlands have threatened to boycott if Israel competes, citing Gaza’s death toll reported by local health authorities.
- Luxembourg’s RTL backs the changes and Norway’s NRK calls them promising, Austria’s ORF wants Israel to compete, and Israel’s KAN says exclusion talk is unjustified.
- A broadcasting industry source told Reuters that Germany would likely pull its broadcast if Israel is barred, while Vienna is set to host the contest in May.