The European Union will intensify its work regarding the political dimension of the crisis in Venezuela, trying to prepare the ground for free and transparent presidential elections as soon as possible, said the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, on Monday 8 April after the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Luxembourg.
While welcoming the progress made by the contact group on the technical aspects (see EUROPE 12230/15), especially regarding access to humanitarian aid, the High Representative said that ministers discussed in specific terms how they might “prepare the ground” for the holding of presidential elections.
To this end, the European External Action Service (EEAS) is currently “preparing a roadmap that could highlight the steps that might be needed or might be an option to be taken leading the country towards a democratic and peaceful transition”, she said.
However, the High Representative acknowledged that the holding of elections still seemed a “very far away objective”, given the refusal to initiate such a process expressed by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
The Spanish Foreign Minister, Josep Borrell, for his part, was critical of the slow pace of work of the contact group in the morning, particularly the “excessively long” time limits set by the EU. He therefore urged the Union to “speed up” its diplomatic work, repeatedly stressing the “urgency” of the country's situation.
Regarding possible penalties, Ms. Mogherini clarified that, while the adoption of additional targeted restrictive measures was not ruled out, no decision had been taken at the EU Council.
Finally, when asked about the possibility of extending the tenure of the contact group, initially set at 90 days, she explained that the mandate did not in fact have an expiry date. In her view, it simply provides that after this time limit, the group should review the results of its work and decide on the way forward. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot – intern)