Eight Member States of the European Union - Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and the Czech Republic - have begun providing assistance to help the Venezuelan population affected by two devastating earthquakes that struck on Wednesday 24 June in a coastal region near Caracas (see EUROPE 13896/15).
“We stand with the people of Venezuela at this time of great tragedy and catastrophe. I thank all the Member States for their solidarity and speed - sending firefighters, rescue dogs, medical staff and other forms of assistance”, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement on Friday 26 June.
Through the EU civil protection mechanism ‘rescEU’, the European institution is coordinating and helping to finance the dispatch of relief assistance. More than 500 responders have been mobilised in the countries concerned. Italy has sent a medical team and Luxembourg telecommunications equipment, shelters and power generators.
Questioned by Agence Europe, the Commission said that the staff of the EU delegation in Caracas were safe, while many foreigners are among the more than 500 victims so far announced by Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez. The delegation is “open and operational”, said Anouar El Anouni, spokesperson for the European External Action Service (EEAS).
He recalled that the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, had proposed to the Member States, at the beginning of 2026, “a review of the European sanctions” targeting senior officials in power in Venezuela, including Delcy Rodriguez, who replaced Nicolas Maduro, detained in the United States after his abduction (see EUROPE 13814/38). (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)