BHRT on Eurovision 2015 Representative: Let's Wait for November 14

BHRT has still not made a decision on Bosnia and Herzegovina's participation in Eurovision 2015, and the deadline set by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is November 14, writes the Bosnian news agency Patria.

Mario Vrankić, director of BHT1, did not answer the question of whether a final decision on BiH's participation in this competition has been made, but told Patria:

- Let's wait for that November 14.

The poor financial situation of BHRT is one of the main reasons why BiH did not participate in Eurovision last year and this year. Revenues from the RTV fee for the first nine months of 2014 alone have dramatically decreased. As reported in one of BHT1's news programs, collection has decreased by as much as 9 million KM.

Former BHRT General Director Mehmed Agović previously told NAP that Eurovision should be an integral part of the program, i.e., a project that the Public Service must have planned a year in advance as a financial expense, rather than seeking sponsors and begging someone to go at the last moment.

What has confused the Bosnian public in recent days is the information that Hajrudin Varešanović is going to Eurovision 2015. In one interview, he said that he had received calls from this media house, but that they later stopped contacting him. The reaction from "BH Eurosong" was absent, and only a wall of silence remained on their part.

That there is no money has been clear for a long time. This was confirmed by today's statement from the Independent Union of Employees of Public RTV Services, which expresses concern over the drastic drop in RTV fee collection.

- The Union of Public RTV Services appeals to the legislative bodies of government, primarily the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the founders of these two Public Broadcasters, to prioritize enabling an increase in RTV fee collection in future work. This is the only way to prevent the functioning of the Public RTV Services of BiH and FBiH and the existence of their employees from being jeopardized. The Independent Union of Public RTV Services believes that the reduction in RTV fee collection is an introduction to the undermining of the Public Broadcasting System in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which could have serious consequences for Bosnia and Herzegovina's European path – the statement reads.