Overview
- RTVE president José Pablo López told a parliamentary oversight hearing that Spain’s public broadcaster will not take part in Eurovision 2026 if Israel remains in the lineup.
- López cited the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and what he called Israel’s systematic breaches of contest rules, including attempts to influence results over at least the past two years.
- He said EBU measures announced following RTVE’s pressure are welcome but insufficient to prevent government interference or to sanction past violations.
- Proposed EBU changes include cutting paid televotes from 20 to 10 per device, expanding anti-fraud detection for coordinated voting, restoring juries in semifinals, and increasing national jurors from five to seven.
- Referencing letters from EBU leaders Noel Curran and Martin Green, López questioned the consistency of rule enforcement and whether the rationale would imply readmitting Russia or Belarus.