Kazakhstan’s hopes of Eurovision glory next year have hit a bureaucratic wall.

Axar.az reports, citing Politico, that the European Broadcasting Union said Thursday that state-owned broadcaster Khabar Agency does not qualify for full membership, after it recently applied to compete in the glitzy annual contest.

The EBU said in a statement that Kazakhstan falls outside the European Broadcasting Area, is not a Council of Europe member and lacks formal observer status with the organization. “Khabar Agency therefore does not qualify for full membership at this time.”

Those requirements are set out in the EBU’s statutes, which were relaxed in June to allow broadcasters from some countries outside Europe to become full members.