The European Commission has definitively approved the withdrawal of a €2 million grant allocated to the Venice Biennale for the 2025–2028 period, Euronews reports.

The decision is linked to the return of the Russian pavilion to the exhibition after a break caused by the war in Ukraine and the EU’s sanctions against Moscow.

European Commissioner for Democracy Henna Virkkunen said that culture in Europe financed by taxpayers’ money must uphold and protect democratic values, Euronews reports.

According to her, these values are “not being observed in Russia today.”

The procedure to revoke the funding was launched in April after Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, president of the Venice Biennale Foundation, confirmed the opening of the Russian pavilion at the current event. Previously, the Russian exhibition space had remained closed in 2022 and 2024.

The European Commission requested clarifications from the organizers regarding the nature of Russia’s participation, but the foundation decided to continue preparations for the pavilion. At the same time, the Russian venue was able to operate only in a limited format, as it did not receive the necessary permits to hold public events.

Brussels’ decision drew criticism from a number of Italian political forces. The League party said it may call on Giorgia Meloni’s government to compensate for the lost funding from the national budget.

Supporters of Russia’s participation insist that culture should remain independent of political decisions, while the EU believes that state funding for cultural projects cannot be used to support venues linked to the Russian state amid the war against Ukraine.