EU lawmakers take aim at Eurovision over ‘rigged' televote

Just over two weeks after the conclusion of the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest, controversy over the integrity of televoting continues to mount.
A group of 12 MEPs from socialist, leftist, green, and liberal groups has written to the top brass of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organises the contest, expressing 'renewed apprehension regarding increasing concerns of irregularities tied to the 2025 contest' in a letter seen by Euronews.
Their appeal follows a wave of concern from national broadcasters, including the Netherlands' AVROTROS/NPO, Norway's NRK, Spain's RTVE, Slovenia's RTVSLO, Iceland's RÚV, Belgium's Flemish VRT, and Finland's Yle.
The broadcasters cited suspicions of televoting manipulation and questioned the role of state-backed promotion, particularly involving this year's runner-up in the contest, Israel's entry, which reportedly benefited from campaigns pursued by the Israeli Government Advertising Agency (Lapam).
Irish broadcaster RTÉ has formally requested access to the voting data, while VRT publicly questioned whether it will continue participating in the contest if full transparency is not ensured.
'While the Eurovision Song Contest is meant to unite Europe through music and culture, recent developments have cast a shadow over its credibility and neutrality,' Slovenian MEP Matjaž Nemec, who initiated the letter, told Euronews.
Nemec criticised the involvement of national governments in promoting their acts, calling it a breach of the EBU's principles of fairness, impartiality, and independence.
The letter cites data from VRT revealing significant and unexplained discrepancies between viewer numbers and televoting participation during the 2023–2025 contests.
'These trends are not easily explained by organic fluctuations in viewer enthusiasm and warrant further scrutiny,' the letter reads, warning that the increasing number of broadcasters questioning their own data points to a deeper, systemic issue.
'This is not an isolated concern: it signals a broader problem that must be addressed,' Nemec said.
The MEPs have called on the EBU to take specific actions, including releasing complete voting data, authorising an independent audit, and enforcing safeguards to prevent political interference in the contest.
'Without answers and accountability, Eurovision risks losing the trust of its audience and becoming a stage not for unity, but for manipulation,' Nemec warned, adding that the European public deserves full transparency on this year's voting process.
Eurovision Song Contest director Martin Green has issued an open letter addressing concerns about transparency and the integrity of the voting process.
Green acknowledged the issues raised by broadcasters and confirmed that they would be discussed at the upcoming EBU Reference Group meeting.
He noted that while promotional efforts by participating countries are permitted and common in the music industry, the EBU is reviewing whether such campaigns could unduly influence public voting.
He also pointed out that Eurovision's voting system incorporates 'multiple security layers' and is overseen by over 60 professionals across Cologne, Vienna, and Amsterdam, while the voting is managed by Once Germany GmbH and independently verified by EY (Ernst & Young).
Regarding the current rule limiting votes to 20 per payment method per person, Green stated that there is no evidence this affects the results. Nonetheless, the issue will be re-examined as part of the post-contest review process.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Euronews

2 hours ago

• Euronews

Exclusive: Belarus releases political prisoners in surprise decision

Belarus has released a group of political prisoners on Saturday, in a US-brokered deal with President Aliaksandr Lukashenka, Belarusian opposition sources told Euronews. Exiled Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's husband Siarhei Tsikhanouski is among the released. Lukashenka's regime arrested him in 2020 as the then-Belarusian opposition presidential candidate and Lukashenka's direct opponent. The surprise release was brokered by US envoy Keith Kellogg, a longtime advisor to US President Donald Trump, who travelled to Belarus earlier this week for talks with Lukashenka. Since last year, Lukashenka has been regularly pardoning small numbers of imprisoned government critics in what analysts saw as a signal that Minsk was seeking to ease tensions with the West. In the run-up to the January 2025 presidential elections, Lukashenka has pardoned prisoners convicted of extremism, claiming that it was a "humane gesture" toward those who had "gone astray". Kellogg, US special envoy for Russia's war against Ukraine, has said privately that the trip to Minsk could help kickstart peace talks aimed at ending Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to two of the sources. Earlier, exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya told Euronews that Lukashenka "cannot be trusted' and Belarus is not a place for negotiations because Lukashenka "is part of this war". Lukashenka is a key ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and has allowed him to stage part of his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 from Belarus. "He's a co-aggressor and he's serving Putin's interest, and he cannot be trusted at all," Tsikhanouskaya told Euronews. She described Russia's war in Ukraine as a blessing for Lukashenka and that he did not want it to stop. "(The government) is producing a huge amount of stuff for Russian army, and in this atmosphere of sanctions against Lukashenka's regime, it's a good source of income for him," she added. Who is Siarhei Tsikanouski? Previously a popular blogger, Siarhei Tsikhanouski decided to run against Lukashenka in the 2020 presidential elections and was arrested in spring, long before the summer protests in Belarus. Tsikhanouski was first given 'administrative detention' which prevented him from filing his candidacy before the deadline. His wife Tsikhanouskaya filed her candidacy instead, emerging as a leading opposition candidate. A Minsk court sentenced Tsikhanouski to 18 years in prison with the harshest possible conditions. He has not been allowed family visits and telephone calls. He has also not been allowed to meet with his lawyer confidentially, read, send letters, or receive letters and parcels. In 2023 he was given a new sentence of 1.5 years in prison in addition to the 18-year sentence he was already serving on the charge of 'disobedience to prison administration'. Tsikhanouskaya had no contact with her husband since he was jailed. She previously told Euronews that she did not know if he was alive. 'My children write letters to him, but they get no response. They ask if their father is okay, if he is still alive—it's an incredibly painful situation. My husband's imprisonment is my personal pain, but my goal is to free all political prisoners,' the Belarusian opposition leader said in an earlier interview with Euronews.** Lukashenka claimed victory in the 2020 presidential election deemed fraudulent by the EU and external observers, triggering mass protests. They were violently crushed by police, with tens of thousands of peaceful protesters arrested, and countless detainees suffering torture and other ill-treatment. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya went into exile for fear of prosecution. Many of her close associates, including her closest companion during the election campaign, Maryia Kalesnikava, were jailed. According to the Belarusian human rights centre Vyasna, over 50,000 people have been detained on political grounds after mass protests broke out following Lukashenka's 2020 presidential election win, and at least 5,472 people have been convicted in politically-motivated criminal cases. The United Nations estimates that around 300,000 Belarusians have left the country since then, with most going to Poland and Lithuania. Even today, between 15 and 20 people are being detained in Belarus every day. In 2023, Tsikhanouskaya was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Euronews

6 hours ago

• Euronews

German and French industry united on US aircraft sector tariffs

The German Aerospace Industries Association (BDLI) wants only US completed products aircraft and helicopters to be targeted by the EU for retaliatory tariffs - leaving the market for the supply of parts unscathed - if trade negotiations between the EU and the US founder, the group has told Euronews. It's position aligns it with the French sector's stance. 'If the EU must respond, counter-tariffs should focus strictly on fully finished aerospace end products – such as complete aircraft and helicopters – and explicitly exclude spare parts or critical products,' BDLI said in an email to Euronews. 'This is essential to avoid unintended harm to European and global production networks.' US aircraft are included in the European Commission's draft list of €95 billion worth of US products that could face duties if ongoing negotiations fail. The list was open for industry consultation until 10 June and now awaits approval by EU member states. BDLI's position mirrors that of Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury, who also chairs the French aerospace association GIFAS. Speaking to French media in May, Faury backed tariffs on finished aircraft but warned against measures affecting spare parts, to avoid disrupting the global supply chain. A source familiar with the matter told Euronews that the French government supports the stance of its aerospace industry. In response to the EU's inclusion of aircraft in its draft retaliation list, the US has launched an investigation that could pave the way for the Trump administration to impose additional tariffs on the EU aerospace sector. Trade tensions between the EU and the US risk reigniting the long-standing rivalry between aerospace giants Boeing and Airbus. However, the two economies' production systems are tightly intertwined. For instance, the LEAP engine, used in both Airbus and Boeing jets, is co-produced by US-based General Electric and France's Safran. Aircraft remain a central issue in ongoing EU-US negotiations. Following a discussion with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada on Monday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said both leaders had directed their teams to accelerate negotiation. EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič also met with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Monday, on the margins of the G7. A follow-up meeting with US counterparts is scheduled to take place in Washington on Thursday and Friday, an EU spokesperson confirmed. The US currently imposes tariffs of 50% on EU steel and aluminium, 25% on cars, and 10% on all other EU imports. President Trump has warned he will raise tariffs on all EU imports to 50% if no 'fair' agreement is reached by 9 July.

Euronews

12 hours ago

• Euronews

EU-Iran talks: Door open to dialogue but no concrete breakthroughs yet

That's it from the Euronews team for now as we stop following developments on day eight of the Iran-Israel conflict and close the live blog. Before we sign off, here's a summary of some of the key events from Friday evening. Our journalists will be back with more live coverage from Saturday morning. Day eight summary - The EU's Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas has said that talks with Iran must remain open after discussions in Geneva. - Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said it is important that the US is involved in further talks, while his French counterpart, Jean-Noël Barrot, said Iran is prepared to continue discussions. - British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said that "we are keen to continue ongoing discussions and negotiations with Iran, and we urge Iran to continue their talks with the United States." - In an update to the UN Security Council, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi said attacks on nuclear facilities should never take place. - UN Secretary General António Guterres warned the Security Council that any expansion of the Iran-Israel conflict could start a fire that no one can control, saying "We are not drifting toward crisis – we are racing toward it." The British government said it is working with Israeli authorities to provide charter flights to evacuate UK nationals from the country. - The UK, Ireland and Switzerland have all announced the temporary withdrawal of staff from their embassies in the Iranian capital Tehran due to the deteriorating security situation. - Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations told the Security Council that 50 Israeli warplanes planes entered Iraqi airspace, in what he called "violations of international law."