RTVE plans to keep Spain out of Eurovision 2027 despite reforms announced by the Unión Europea de Radiodifusión. José Pablo López will present the proposal to the Corporation's Board of Directors, but the boycott is not final.
The dispute centers on Gaza, Israel's participation and whether the UER's changes go far enough for Spain.
The UER responded directly to López. Martin Green, the contest's director, said the organisation respects RTVE's internal process and is waiting for the board's decision. He also made clear that the UER still wants Spain to take part in the contest planned for Bulgaria.
Ireland has already confirmed it will neither participate in nor broadcast Eurovision 2027, citing the humanitarian situation in Gaza and Israel's continued presence in the contest, the BBC reported.
The UER's tone is conciliatory, but its response does little to address the central dispute.
Green referred to concerns raised by member broadcasters over the past year. The Grupo de Referencia, which governs the contest, has approved a package of changes.
The package includes stronger safeguards against improper external influence and promotion. It also sets stricter voting limits, brings professional juries back to the semi-finals, broadens the makeup of juries and improves the voting system. The package addresses external campaigns and sponsorship neutrality, which the UER presents as safeguards against political influence and possible manipulation surrounding the vote. The UER says the measures are meant to keep the competition safe.
One major demand remains unanswered: Israel has not been excluded from the festival. That is still the basic reason RTVE does not want to recommend a return.
The UER said it regretted that Spain could stay away despite the reforms, describing Spain's absence from Bulgaria as a disappointment.
López has based his position on the humanitarian situation in Gaza. He said that no one with minimal human sensitivity could see the suffering of the Palestinian people without condemning it.
His objection goes beyond voting rules and contest management. He also sees participation under the current conditions as an ethical problem.
RTVE says it has spent the past year working with other European broadcasters to seek changes to the UER's governance rules. Its demands included stronger protection against political instrumentalisation and guarantees of neutrality in sponsorships and at the festival.
López acknowledged that not every goal had been reached. He described ethics as an unresolved issue, and the Corporation said it was not complacent about the outcome.
The board now has the decisive role. López has announced the proposal, but the final decision still awaits formal processing within RTVE.
Spain has not been formally withdrawn from Eurovision 2027. RTVE's president is openly recommending that the suspension continue for a second straight year.
Reporting by RTE confirms that the UER respects this internal procedure while still seeking Spain's participation.
The latest position follows earlier reporting on RTVE's demand for neutrality and its opposition to Israel's participation. The UER's reply confirms that the reforms address voting safeguards and outside influence. They do not address the issue Madrid considers most serious.
Technical changes alone cannot settle this dispute. The UER has offered procedural reforms, while RTVE is judging the festival against a political and ethical standard linked to Gaza and Israel.
That gap explains why the two sides can accept the same reforms and still move toward opposite decisions. RTVE's proposed boycott is not final, but it is the clearest position the Corporation has announced so far. The UER's invitation has not changed it.
If the board approves the proposal, Spain could miss the 2027 contest in Bulgaria.
