The EU: “Without a satisfactory response from the Biennale, we are prepared to terminate the contract”

Brussels – The European Commission is awaiting a response to the letter it sent to the Venice Biennale, but says it is prepared to terminate the contract. This was reiterated today (7 May) by the European Commission’s spokesperson, Thomas Regnier, during the daily press briefing. 

At the heart of the matter is Russia’s participation in the cultural event: according to Brussels, this could be incompatible with the terms of the funding agreement. “We have sent an initial letter to the Biennale stating that, in our view, there may be a breach of the €2 million grant we are providing to support the Biennale,” he explained. “We are now awaiting a reply to our letter, dated 10 April“, and “the Biennale has until Sunday to reply; if the reply is not satisfactory—we have been extremely clear—we will decide whether to suspend or terminate the contract,” he emphasised. “We condemn the Biennale’s decision,” the spokesperson emphasised once again. He also clarified that the Biennale has not yet received any funding and “will not receive it until we have received reassurance.” 

A second letter, sent on 30 April, was leaked via the newspaper La Repubblica. According to the newspaper, the Commission raised suspicions of a breach of sanctions regulations on two counts. The first concerns funding, because “any costs incurred by Russia for the participation of its delegation benefit the Biennale and appear to constitute indirect provision of financial support” by the Kremlin, which is prohibited. The second point was raised today at the press briefing: the Biennale is providing services to Russia without an explicit exemption from the sanctions rules. The Commission spokesperson, however, declined to comment, stating that “the letter is not public.”

 Meanwhile, in Venice, the Russian pavilion held a private preview yesterday. The curator, Anastasia Karneeva, thanked the Biennale for “keeping its doors open to all countries.” Outside, however, there were protests.