 The most important difference between the EBU and its predecessors was that EBU membership was for broadcasters and not governments.Early delegates said EBU meetings were cordial and professional and very different from the abrupt tone of its predecessors.West Germany was admitted in 1951 and a working relationship forged with the USSR's Organisation for International Radio and TV (OIRT) which existed in parallel with the EBU until its merger in 1993.