On Monday 13 November, EU foreign ministers imposed sanctions on Venezuela due to concern at the situation in the country.
The Council of the EU decided to impose an arms embargo and an embargo on equipment that could be used for domestic repression, along with equipment and technology destined to be used by the regime to monitor or intercept the internet and listen in to telephone calls.
A legal framework was also adopted to ban travel to the EU and an assets freeze to penalise individuals responsible for serious human rights violations or acts of repression against civil society and the democratic opposition in Venezuela or against action, policies or activity that damaged democracy in any way or the rule of law in Venezuela. Nobody has yet had the sanctions issued against them.
The measures will be applied gradually and flexibly and could be extended to target individuals involved in failing to respect democratic principles or the rule of law, or who violate human rights, explains the Council in a conclusions document on Venezuela. On the other hand, the measures can be cancelled as the situation in the country evolves, particularly in terms of credible and constructive negotiations, respect for democratic institutions, adoption of a full electoral timeline and the release of all political prisoners, explain the ministers.
In the conclusions document, the Council points out that only a constructive dialogue and negotiations can enable a resolution of the current crisis in a sustainable way and respond to the urgent needs of the Venezuelan population. It explains that the EU is ready to provide support for credible negotiations and urges the government to restore democratic legitimacy as a matter of urgency through the holding of free and regular elections with the opposition continuing to work in unity to find a negotiated solution to the current tensions in the interest of the country. The ministers say that setting up an all-powerful constituent assembly further weakens democratic and independent institutions. The EU even has serious doubts about the legitimacy and representativeness of the assembly set up in early August (see EUROPE 11843) and notes the importance of respect of the powers of the national assembly and its members and the independence of judicial power. The ministers call for transparency on the results of the 15 October election of governors.
At the end of October, under the leadership of the EPP and ALDE groups, the European Parliament awarded the Sakharov Prize 2017 to the Venezuelan political opposition. Gathered together under the banner Mesa de la Unidad Democratica, the opposition controls the national parliament, which the Maduro regime got around by setting up the Constituent Assembly (see EUROPE 11892). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)