Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002755/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Pina Picierno (S&D)
Conductor Valery Gergiev is slated to perform in Caserta on 27 July in ‘Un’estate da Re’ [‘A King’s Summer’], a concert that the Campania Region has financed through European cohesion funds[1].
Gergiev is known for openly supporting the Russian Government and many reports indicate that he is a leading Kremlin propagandist. In 2022, the Scala opera house in Milan suspended its working relationship with Gergiev owing to his refusal to distance himself from President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine[2].
Moreover, according to several journalistic investigations, Gergiev has purchased many luxury properties in Russia, Italy and the United States via a charitable fund registered in his name that has mostly received donations from companies owned by the Russian state and from oligarchs with close ties to the Kremlin, leading to concerns about financial transparency and potential conflicts of interest[3].
Gergiev’s participation in an EU-funded event is therefore blatantly at odds with the fundamental values enshrined in the Treaties.
In the light of the above:
- 1.Will the Commission take steps to prevent and put a stop to the use of European cohesion funds to finance initiatives linked to figures with close ties to regimes that are opposed to European values?
- 2.Is the Commission planning any initiatives to strengthen checks on the use of cohesion funds at the local level with a view to ensuring compliance with EU principles?
Submitted: 7.7.2025