Kosovo: RTK To Push for Full EBU Membership Next Week

The Director General of RTK has met members of the EBU ahead of a push for full membership of the Union at next weeks General Assembly.

Mentor Shala the Director General of RTK, the national broadcaster of Kosovo, has met with with the EBU President Jean-Paul Philippot. Mr Shala spoke with the EBU’s President ahead of EBU General Assembly which takes place next week in Tirana, Albania. The Director General will be pushing for the EBU to go for full membership of the Union.

Mr Shala stated in an RTK report that;

We had a meeting with EBU President Jean-Paul Philippot, with whom we discussed the General Assembly held at the end of this month, and the possibility that RTK becomes a full-fledged member of the EBU and we participate in the European Eurovision Song Contest next year.

In the past Kosovo have participated in other Eurovision events. For example in 2011, RTK selected Tringa Hsya to participate at the Eurovision Young Dancers contest that year. Albanian media reports that RTK’s push for full membership comes as they hope to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019.

Last year the national broadcasters of a number of countries across the Balkans stated their support for Kosovo to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. However both Bosnia & Herzegovina and Serbia have opposed such participation.

If Kosovo were to debut in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2018, they would be the first European nation to debut in the contest for a decade. Both Azerbaijan and San Marino debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2008, while Australia has been competing in the competition since 2015.

Source: Magazina.al, RTK