St. Petersburg authorities demand that the European University be evicted from its building in the city center

The Saint Petersburg Property Relations Committee has demanded that the European University be evicted from its mansion in the city center on Gagarinskaya Street, the committee’s press service told Novaya Gazeta.

"We sent a notice of unilateral termination of the lease. During inspections in 2016, it was revealed that the party did not comply with the terms of the agreement in terms of the requirements of the Committee for State Control, Use and Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments. This committee filed a lawsuit and, based on the case we won, we are terminating the agreement," the property relations committee said.

The department promises not to evict the university from the building until the end of the academic year.

The European University explained that the city authorities were unhappy with the redevelopment of the building. This concerns the installation of plastic windows on the palace facades and temporary partitions. At the same time, the university notes that these violations "do not pose a risk to the cultural values ​​of the palace and would be automatically corrected during the adaptation of the building."

In December 2016, Rosobrnadzor suspended the license of the European University after an unscheduled inspection that took place at the university in the summer. Initially, the supervisory agency pointed out 120 violations. Despite the elimination of 117 of them, Rosobrnadzor revoked the university's license. However, on December 13, the arbitration court, at the request of the university, suspended Rosobrnadzor's decision.

In January of this year, the European University filed a lawsuit against the property relations committee, challenging the termination of the lease agreement concluded in 2011, Fontanka notes . In March, the Arbitration Court will consider the lawsuit.