As anticipated (see EUROPE 12642/4), on Monday 25 January the EU Foreign Affairs Council adopted conclusions in which the ministers considered the opposition Juan Guaidó, former President of the Venezuelan National Assembly, as a “privileged interlocutor” in the attempt to find a negotiated solution to the political and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela.
Although it does not recognise the outcome of the last parliamentary and presidential elections, the European Union does not have the competence to recognise the legitimacy of a political leader in a non-Member State, as this is a competence of the Member States. It also notes that a new national assembly is in place.
On Monday, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, called on the stakeholders in Venezuela to think first about the well-being of their citizens and to think about how to overcome the political impasse.
In contrast, the European Parliament, led by a centre-right political majority, continues to consider Mr Guaidó the legitimate interim president of the Caribbean country, as it does the national assembly elected in 2015, which was presided over by Mr Guaidó (see EUROPE 12641/9).
The Council of the EU stands ready to adopt new targeted sanctions that would target dignitaries of the Maduro regime responsible for violations of human rights and the rule of law.
See the conclusions: https://bit.ly/3sUt929 (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)