EU Countries Urge Funding Cuts for IOC Over Return of Russian Athletes

Nine European Union member states have asked the European Commission to cut off funding for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over its readmission of Russian and Belarusian athletes.

The appeal was reported by The Moscow Times on July 14, citing RBC.

The move follows the July 7 decision by the IOC's executive board, which restored the Russian Olympic Committee's membership. The same ruling recommended a review of the restrictions still applied to Russian competitors.

The letter was addressed to the European commissioner for sport, Glenn Micallef. It asks the Commission to exclude three bodies from EU funding programs:

• The International Olympic Committee;

• The International Fencing Federation;

• The International Swimming Federation.

Estonia initiated the appeal. Finland, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Sweden, Romania and Denmark signed on.

"International structures must respect the principles of human rights, the rule of law, and peaceful relations between states," the letter stated, according to The Moscow Times.

The signatories argued that such organizations should receive no money from the European budget until they confirm their commitment to the bloc's core values.

In February 2022, the IOC recommended that international federations limit the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes.

It later admitted selected competitors under neutral status, subject to conditions, which allowed some of them to compete at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

The Commission has already reached for financial leverage elsewhere. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced that the bloc would halt funding for the Venice Biennale over the Russian pavilion.

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Culture

European Commission Seeks Cut to Venice Biennale Funding Over Russian Participation

Jul 13, 2026 23:24

Kallas noted that culture and sport must not be used to "whitewash" Russia's reputation against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine. Organizers of the Biennale were stripped of a $2.28 million grant that had been earmarked through the European Education and Culture Executive Agency.

That decision was formalized only a day before the sports letter surfaced. On July 13, the Commission recommended terminating the grant, which covered the 2025–2028 period, after reviewing Biennale management's responses regarding the Russian national pavilion at the 61st exhibition. Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen tied the recommendation to the argument that taxpayer-funded culture in Europe must uphold democratic values.

It was the first time since the start of the full-scale invasion that Russia appeared on the Biennale's official participant list.

European pressure on the IOC has been building since the July 7 ruling, which handed entry decisions to individual federations and ended neutral-status vetting for Russian competitors.

Ukraine's Minister of Youth and Sports, Matvii Bidnyi, and Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the decision as an alarming signal and urged federations to maintain their restrictions.

The IOC had already lifted its recommended limits on Belarusian athletes on June 26, clearing them to compete under their national flag and anthem.

Ukraine's National Olympic Committee condemned that move, pointing to hundreds of destroyed sports facilities and more than 600 Ukrainian athletes and coaches killed since 2022.

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