Czech Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Alexander Vondra on Thursday said the Czech presidency of the European Union is ready to have removed a controversial element of the Entropa art exhibition that has sparked a diplomatic row between Bulgaria and the Czech Republic.
Speaking at the opening of the exhibit in the atrium of the Justus Lipsius building in Brussels, Vondra said the artwork will stay up until the ” end of June”, when the Czech presidency ends, but the Bulgarian element would be removed if the Bulgarian government insists.
Bulgaria has been portrayed through a combination of a Turkish toilet and pipes. The country’s government earlier this week summoned the Czech ambassador in Sofia for an explanation.
Vondra said there are still “open issues” in the talks with Bulgaria. At the presentation, he also apologized to Bulgaria.
“We consider Entropa as a piece of art. Nothing more. Nothing less,” he said.
Czech artist David Cerny, who coordinated the Entropa exhibit, also apologized to Bulgaria and said he would not object to the Bulgarian toilets being removed.
“If we are asked to, we will do so,” he said at the presentation of Entropa
