Brussels, 12/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 12 June, the day after the EU-Latin America and Caribbean summit, European Council President Donald Tusk called on the Venezuelan government to “create a climate for dialogue” with all the political parties and civil society in Venezuela.
“The situation in Venezuela was an important topic. We called on the government to work with all political parties and civil society. We welcomed regional initiatives such as Unasur [the union of South American nations]. As usual in Europe, fair internal elections are extremely important. We are following the situation closely, and our position is to engage with all sides, government and civil society. We are ready to offer our assistance if and when requested. At the end of the day, it is for the government and public authorities to create a climate for dialogue with concrete results. We hope to address legitimate concerns of the Venezuelan people”, Tusk said at the end of the EU-Mexico summit (see other article).
Tusk also stated that “personally, I can say I am not fully satisfied” with the language of the final declaration from the EU-Latin America and Caribbean summit adopted on Thursday (see EUROPE 11333). “It is something like a compromise among 61 countries [of the EU and Latin America and the Caribbean]. Of course there is no space for compromise when it comes to human rights”, Tusk said
In their joint declaration, European and Latin American leaders were cautious about the situation in Venezuela, simply reiterating their “rejection of coercive measures of unilateral character with extra-territorial effect that are contrary to international law”, and reaffirming their commitment to “the peaceful settlement of disputes” - an indirect way of criticising the US sanctions taken out against high-level Venezuelans who reportedly played a role in the crackdown of the demonstrations that took place in 2014.
“We reject the absurd argument according to which Venezuela is allegedly an imminent threat to the US”, Venezuela's President Rafael Correa said after the summit, condemning US interference “in the domestic affairs of a sovereign state”.
The joint declaration did not mention the political and economic crisis in Venezuela. Spain's former prime minister, Felipe Gonzalez, is currently visiting Venezuela to bring his support to opposition figures who are now in prison - like the mayor of Caracas Antonio Ledezma, and Leopoldo Lopez, who has begun a hunger strike (see EUROPE 11274 and 11261).
Last week, the Euro-Latin American parliamentary assembly was unable to adopt a joint text due to differences in opinion between Europeans and Latin Americans on the Venezuelan issue. (Emmanuel Hagry and Mathieu Bion)