Brussels, 04/02/2016 (Agence Europe) - In a debate on Wednesday 3 February, attended by members of the Venezuelan political opposition, a majority of MEPs called on the Venezuelan authorities not to obstruct the work of the country's national assembly.
“The European Parliament is happy with the democratic will expressed in December's elections. This assembly is legitimate” said Ramon Jauregui Atondo (S&D, Spain), who chairs the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly. José Inacio Faria (ALDE, Portugal), said that the new assembly, which, “despite threats”, is trying to do its job, “deserves the support of the European Union”. Speaking for the GUE/NGL, Spanish MEP Javier Couso Permuy criticised those who alleged electoral fraud before changing their view once the results were known. “The assembly is not a supra-constitutional authority; there is a counter weight, an elected executive”, he argued.
Speaking on behalf of the Dutch Presidency of the Council of the EU, Foreign Minister Bert Koenders called on the regime of Nicolas Maduro to respect the outcome of December's general election won by the opposition united under the “Mesa de la Unidad Democratica” banner (see EUROPE 11447). “A solution will not be found through ideological confrontation”, he added, urging those in power to end the use of “unconstitutional methods” and to put parallel structures in place.
Speaking for the Mesa de la Unidad Democratica, Mitzy Capriles de Ledezma, the wife of the jailed mayor of Caracas, spoke to the press about the “humanitarian crisis” sweeping her country as a result, among other things, of a shortage of medicines. Condemning the impunity and insecurity that reign in Venezuela she wondered where oil revenues, on which the country's economy is based, were going. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)