ArtDependence | European Commission recommends ending Venice Biennale funding over Russia's Return

Sunday, July 12, 2026

European Commission recommends ending Venice Biennale funding over Russia's Return

The European Commission has recommended terminating a €2 million grant to the Venice Biennale in a dispute over the Biennale's decision to allow Russia’s participation after the invasion of Ukraine.

“The Commission officially recommends EACEA [European Education and Culture Executive Agency] to terminate the €2 million grant to the Venice Biennale," Commission Vice President Henna Virkkunen said on X. The formal decision rests with the EACEA, the executive agency responsible for managing EU culture funding programmes.

Virkkunen said EU funds should promote and safeguard democratic values, which, she argued, are not respected in Russia today.

Both the Commission and the EACEA sent letters to the Biennale seeking clarification and warning that it risked losing EU funding.

The Russian pavilion never opened to the general public and was accessible only during the preview days for art professionals.

Both the Commission and the EACEA sent letters to the Biennale seeking clarification and warning that it risked losing EU funding.

The biennale said it responded “within the established timeframe to all points of the third letter received from the EACEA on the matter.”

“We have learned on X from political authorities, and not from the relevant technical authorities, of decisions taken regarding the European Education and Culture Executive Agency’s (EACEA) contribution to the Venice Biennale,” the statement added.

The Biennale said the affected programmes, which are only “marginally co-financed” by the EU, would continue.