The European Commission has warned it will cut funding for the Venice Biennale if organizers go ahead with plans to include Russia.
The commission reiterated that any breach of ethical standards by the arts festival would be treated as a breach of contract, leading to the suspension of the €2m (£1.7m) deal.
Commission spokesman Thomas Régnier said he could not anticipate a decision by EU lawyers on whether the contract had been broken, but stressed that the decision to include Russia was not in line with European values and ethical standards.
“The commission condemns the decision of the Fondazione Biennale to allow Russia to participate in the 2026 Biennale art exhibition,” he told reporters. “Because culture in Europe must promote and safeguard democratic values. It must encourage open dialogue, diversity and freedom of expression. These values are currently not respected in today’s Russia.”
“If there is a breach of contract… the commission will terminate or suspend the contract,” he said. The EU grant of 2 million euros supports film projects at the contemporary art exhibition.
Biennale organizers said last week that Russia would be allowed to participate in the art exhibition, which runs from May 9 to Nov. 22, prompting a wave of anger and accusations from Ukraine that it was providing “a stage… to cover up war crimes.”
Foreign and culture ministers from 22 countries have called on organizers to reconsider the situation, citing the “systematic destruction of Ukrainian life and cultural heritage,” including the murder of at least 342 artists, the damage or destruction of 1,685 cultural heritage sites and 2,483 cultural facilities. “In this context, granting Russia a prestigious international cultural platform sends a deeply worrying signal,” wrote ministers from most EU countries and Ukraine.
The letter was addressed to the Biennale’s board of directors and its president, Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, a right-wing journalist and public intellectual, appointed to the position in 2024 by the nationalist government of Giorgia Meloni.
Buttafuoco told La Repubblica last week that he had invited people “from all conflict zones to share their views.” “We believe that where there is art, there is dialogue,” he said.
Meloni, despite her previous sympathies towards Russia, has been a staunch defender of Ukraine since the large-scale invasion of 2022. Her government opposes the Biennale’s decision.
Earlier this week, European Commission Vice President Henna Virkkunen and EU Commissioner for Culture Glenn Micallef issued a statement condemning the Biennale’s decision. “If the Fondazione Biennale follows through with its decision to allow Russia’s participation, we will examine further actions, including the suspension or termination of an ongoing EU grant to the Biennale Foundation,” they said.
