“On Venezuela, I propose that a meeting of the International Contact Group be convened at ministerial level with all the key players to analyse the conditions in which the parliamentary elections will take place”, said the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, on Monday 13 July.
The EU has criticised the way in which the Venezuelan National Electoral Council has been partly renewed by the ruling power in view of the parliamentary elections to be held in December (see EUROPE 12508/16). The Venezuelans will be called upon to re-elect the National Assembly, currently controlled by the opponent Juan Guaidó.
The aim is also to send “a strong message to the Maduro regime”, Borrell said. The EU recently sanctioned 11 dignitaries of the regime, bringing the number of Venezuelans subject to EU restrictive measures to 36.
The International Contact Group, comprising eight EU countries and five Latin American countries, aims to create the conditions for a way out of the political and humanitarian crisis negotiated between the Maduro regime and the political opposition.
Covid-19. More generally, EU foreign ministers discussed on Monday how the EU can become more involved in helping Latin America and the Caribbean to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The number of cases and deaths is extraordinarily high in Latin America, with a very, very high proportion of the subcontinent’s population”, Borrell said.
On Friday, 18 Foreign Ministers from EU, Latin American and Caribbean countries had called for enhanced cooperation between the two regions to overcome the coronavirus and address its economic and social consequences.
“We recognise that the Covid-19 pandemic disproportionately affects the poorest and most vulnerable populations, has an impact on health and development, especially in developing countries, and impedes the achievement of sustainable development goals”, the joint statement said. She also added that: “We believe that this crisis is a further reason to strengthen the system of multilateralism”.
See the joint statement: https://bit.ly/309V9kQ (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)