“We cannot recognise the legitimacy of Mr Maduro as the elected president”, even though he will remain “the de facto president” of Venezuela, declared the High Representative of the European Union, Josep Borrell, on Thursday 29 August, at the end of the informal meeting of European foreign affairs ministers.
According to Mr Borrell, it is now “too late” to continue to ask the Venezuelan authorities to provide proof of victory in the re-election of President Nicolás Maduro by publishing the full electoral records and verifying them (see EUROPE 13468/4).
The Venezuelan National Electoral Council is refusing to publish these electoral records in full, citing computer hacking.
Mr Borrell indicated that the EU will remain in close contact with the political opposition and is calling for the release of political prisoners.
Referring to the “consequences” for the Maduro regime of the lack of legitimacy of the presidential elections, he did not, however, advocate additional sanctions by the EU, which are currently targeting 55 Venezuelan dignitaries. In terms of sanctions, we have almost reached the highest political level, he noted.
On Thursday, the unsuccessful Venezuelan opposition candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, presented ministers with a remote assessment of the situation in the country.
The Spanish minister, José Manuel Albares, has ruled out the option of new presidential elections, as the Venezuelan political forces themselves do not advocate this. Nor has he supported the request by Spanish MPs from the Partido Popular to recognise Mr González Urrutia as the legitimate president of Venezuela.
In 2021, the EU recognised the opposition leader Juan Guaidó, then President of the Venezuelan National Assembly, as a privileged interlocutor (see EUROPE 12642/4). It has no competence to recognise the legitimacy of a political leader in a third country, which is the responsibility of the Member States.
Sweden has announced assistance worth SEK 10 million to support press freedom in Venezuela. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)