On Monday 25 January, the European Ministers of Foreign Affairs will take stock of the political and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. They will adopt specific conclusions, but no new European targeted sanctions are expected to be adopted at this meeting.
They will reiterate that the European Union does not recognise the National Assembly, which was taken over by the Maduro regime in December after parliamentary elections that were neither free nor credible (see EUROPE 12630/7). For them, this process constitutes “a missed opportunity for democracy” in the Caribbean country, according to the draft conclusions validated by the ambassadors of the Member States to the EU and a copy of which has been obtained by EUROPE.
Monday will also see a discussion on the status to be given to opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who presided over the previous National Assembly, the last bastion of opposition to the Maduro regime.
According to the conclusions, Mr Guaidó and other representatives of the democratic opposition will continue to be “important [political] actors and privileged interlocutors” for the EU. The question of continuing to regard Mr Guaidó as the legitimate President of Venezuela, as the European Parliament still considers him to be (see EUROPE 12641/9), does not arise at Union level. The Commission is not competent in this area.
According to a senior European official, Europeans cannot consider that the National Assembly elected in 2015 remains the only legitimate entity in Venezuela. While the new assembly was not formed according to democratic standards, continuing to recognise an assembly whose term has expired according to the country’s constitutional rules would have “potentially enormous legal consequences”, especially for countries in the region, the source said.
This high-ranking official also believes that, in order to break the political deadlock in Venezuela, “the greatest possible unity within the opposition is necessary”. Hence the idea of considering Mr Guaidó as a pre-eminent person, while at the same time making room for other opposition figures.
On this issue, the EU will state that, in view of the “deteriorating situation” on the ground, it stands ready to adopt additional targeted sanctions against Venezuelans guilty of violations of human rights and the rule of law.
See the conclusions: http://bit.ly/3p7f7Ig (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)