STOCKHOLM: Romania has been barred from this year’s Eurovision Song Contest for failing to pay millions in debts to the European Broadcasting Union, the EBU said Friday.

The EBU, which organizes the contest which this year culminates in a final on May 14 in Stockholm, said Romania’s struggling state broadcaster TVR owes it 16 million Swiss francs (14.5 million euros, $16.3 million), debts that have accumulated over several years.

Romania was to be represented at the event by Ovidiu Anton with his English-language song, “Moment of Silence,” but the entry will now be forced out of the lineup. “It is regrettable that we are forced to take this action,” EBU Director General Ingrid Deltenre said in a statement. “We are disappointed that all our attempts to resolve this matter have received no response from the Romanian government.