EU to suspend €2m Venice Biennale project if Russia takes part

The European Commission has said it will suspend the implementation of a €2 million grant awarded to the Biennale Foundation if Russia participates in the 2026 art exhibition.

The EU warns it will end its current grant support for the Venice Biennale if Russia takes part in the exhibition.

"The Commission condemns the decision by the Fondazione Biennale to allow Russia to participate in the 2026 Biennale art exhibition," Thomas Regnier, spokesperson for the European Commission, said.

Regnier explained that "culture in Europe should promote and safeguard democratic values" and "foster open dialogue, diversity and freedom of expression".

"These values are currently, in today's Russia, not honoured," he added.

The European Commission is condemning the decision to bring back the Russian pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2026.

"Now, what is at stake? The Commission supports the Fondazione Biennale. We have an ongoing project of €2 million that is supporting film producers extended in virtual reality. This project is ongoing, and indeed, if there is a breach of the contract, like we have with any grant agreement, the Commission will terminate or suspend the contract," Regnier concluded.

More than two dozen countries signed a statement against Russia's participation in the Venice Biennale.

The statement was signed by the culture and foreign ministers of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden and Ukraine.

In a statement on 10 March 2026, Henna Virkkunen, European Commission Executive Vice-President, and Glenn Micallef, the Commissioner for intergenerational fairness, youth, culture and sport, warned that the EU Commission could suspend EU grant funding for the Venice Biennale if Russia is allowed to reopen its pavilion at this year's exhibition.

Ukraine has called on the organisers of the Venice Biennale to reconsider their decision on Russia's participation and to maintain the principled position demonstrated in 2022-24.

Russia will reopen its pavilion and take part in the Venice Biennale this year for the first time since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.