The European Union has suspended its financial support for the Venice Biennale after Russia returned to the international art exhibition for the first time since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said the decision followed a legal assessment and a recommendation from the European Commission, leading the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) to halt the Biennale Foundation's current €2 million grant.

The EU has cancelled a €2 million grant to the Venice Biennale following the reopening of the Russian pavilion.

The European Union said Tuesday that it had definitively cancelled a two million euro ($2.3 million) grant to the Venice Biennale over Russia's presence at the world's biggest…