Brussels redoubles pressure on the Venice Biennale with a second letter demanding Russia’s non-participation

The executive vice president of the European Commission for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunenconfirmed this Tuesday that the Community Executive has sent a second letter to the Venice Biennale to redouble his threat with withdraw two million euros of funding if they allow Russia to participate in the 61st edition of the International Art Exhibition.

In a press conference from Brussels, the Vice President of the Commission reiterated her “strong” condemnation of the Biennale’s decision to allow Russia to participate in the art exhibition, the opening of which will take place next Saturday, May 9, coinciding with the celebration of Europe Day.

“The Biennale officially opens on Saturday. Ironically, Saturday is Europe Day, and Europe Day should be a day to celebrate peace, not a chance for Russia to shine at the Biennale.“, ha lamentado Virkkunen.

That said, he has once again threatened to suspend the two million euro subsidy that the Commission maintains with the Venice Biennale, claiming that “European taxpayers’ money must safeguard democratic values ​​and diversity”, principles that “are not respected in today’s Russia.”

The Venice Biennale announced in March the list of participating countries in its 61st edition, including Russia. In a statement, the organization defended that it is “an open institution“ in which any country recognized by the Italian Republic can participate, and stressed that “it rejects any form of exclusion or censorship of culture and art.”

The decision sparked immediate reaction from Brussels, as Virkkunen and Culture Commissioner Glenn Micallef called Russian participation “incompatible” with the EU’s response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and warned that they would consider restrictive measures, including the suspension or cancellation of the two million euro EU subsidy for the exhibition.

In fact, several weeks ago, the Community Executive gave the organization a period of 30 days to argue why it has allowed Russia to participate in the 61st edition of the International Art Exhibition. warning that if the response was not “satisfactory” then they would suspend the funding of two million euros that the organization had been allocated.

The controversy over Moscow’s participation has also influenced the Biennale jury, which resigned en masse last week after refusing to include Russia and Israel in the exhibition’s awards, arguing that both countries have leaders “accused of crimes against humanity“.

As a consequence of this organizational change, the announcement of the winners, initially scheduled for May 9, has been postponed until November 22. This measure of delaying the list of winners only has the precedent of the 2021 edition, then marked by the restrictions of the pandemic.