EU agrees not to recognize Maduro’s victory but also not to recognize opposition leader

“We cannot accept the legitimacy of Maduro as an elected president. The Council has decided that Maduro has no democratic legitimacy as president. He will remain president. de facto. But it is denied any democratic legitimacy. on the basis of a result that cannot be verified,” explained the head of community diplomacy, Joseph Borrellat the end of the meeting.

However, there is no consensus in Brussels on the next steps to take to address the political crisis that the Latin American country is going through. At this Thursday’s meeting, the opposition leader spoke via videoconference, Edmundo Gonzalezwhich, according to the EU itself, “dAccording to publicly available copies of the minutes, he was the winner of the presidential election by a large majority.

[Maduro se crece en la calle ante la tibia respuesta mundial y amenaza con detener a González Urrutia]

However, There was no consensus among the Twenty-Seven to recognize González’s victory.as the United States did. “Due to the current position of all our colleagues, this is not the common position of the European Union,” Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares already admitted upon his arrival at the meeting.We must act intelligently “so as not to simply make sentences which, of course, could be very effective for 24 hours but very ineffective,” he insisted. The precedent of the leader of the opposition still stings Juan Guaidowhose recognition as interim president served no purpose.

There is also no agreement between the heads of Community diplomacy to impose new sanctions against the Venezuelan regimeas he himself had suggested Albares. Borrell said there were already 55 Venezuelan leaders on the EU’s “blacklist” and that almost only Maduro himself would be on it. “More personal sanctions would mean directly sanctioning the highest political leaders. There are only two or three who are not sanctioned and that is why the member states thought it was better to follow the evolution of events,” the High Representative said.

Borrell stressed that the non-recognition of Maduro’s victory is an important political signal, although he admits that it will have few practical consequences. “In diplomatic life, governments are not recognized, states are recognized (…) There are many cases in the world (of governments that) we do not recognize democratic legitimacy but they exist and control the territory,” he explained.

The foreign ministers agreed in any case to intensify dialogue with all regional actors, especially with Brazil and Colombiain order to find a way out of the crisis in Venezuela. They also committed to do everything possible to preserve the physical integrity and civil and political rights of opposition members of parliament.

“Venezuelan authorities must end repression and respect the dignity, freedom and rights of the opposition, starting with Edmundo González and Maria Corina Machado, as well as civil society and journalists,” insisted the head of diplomacy, who demands the release of all political prisoners.

Albares highlighted Spain’s leading position in the debate on Venezuela. According to him, it was Edmundo González himself who asked him to intervene via videoconference at the EU Foreign Affairs Council. to explain the situation first hand and he transferred it to Borrell, who accepted the request. The Minister of Foreign Affairs ruled out that the solution would involve a new election as Brazil and Colombia have suggested, because the Maduro regime and the opposition reject it.

According to him, the ultimate goal should be to promote a “dialogue between Venezuelans”: that the government and the opposition sit down together to reach a “negotiated”, “peaceful” and “truly Venezuelan” solution. “That it is not imposed from abroad, but that it respects the democratic will of the Venezuelans,” Albares stressed.