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The European Union will not recognize the legitimacy of Nicolás Maduro as president of Venezuela. A month after the elections on July 28, the authorities have not yet recognized the results. “We cannot accept the legitimacy of Maduro’s election as president because there is no record or verification,” warned Josep Borrell, the head of European diplomacy. At an informal meeting of the Council of EU foreign ministers, opposition candidate Edmundo González spoke as a remote guest about the situation in his country.
“We have asked for the minutes of the meeting”, but “after a month, there is no hope for Maduro to submit them. It is too late. The result of our debate is that first of all we defend the democratic process, we will maintain engagement with the opposition and since there is no record or verification and we fear there will never be, we cannot accept the legitimacy of Maduro as the elected president”, he announced at a press conference of Spanish politicians. “The Security Council has decided that Maduro does not have legitimacy. He will be a ‘de facto’ president but without democratic legitimacy”, since the Maduro regime has not yet demonstrated victory and without evidence “we have no reason to believe it”.
Borrell used the press conference to call for an end to “repression” and respect for the “dignity” and “rights” of the opposition, journalists and civil society, although he acknowledged that they will continue to engage in diplomatic interactions with other countries whose governments do not recognize them, as is the case with Nicaragua. Spain’s request for new sanctions against the Venezuelan regime also went unanswered. The issue is on the table, but there is no interest in making progress in this area.
No agreement on sanctions
“The reality is that we have 55 Venezuelan politicians under sanctions, including the vice president (Delcis Rodriguez), who is currently the minister of oil and the minister of the interior (Diosdado Cabello). We have almost reached the top dome. Maduro is not on the list, Jorge Rodriguez is not on the list, and there is nothing else. Borrell argued that more sanctions would mean the top political leaders” and that “only two or three people” would not be sanctioned, explaining that the member states thought it best to “wait and see how things develop after the demonstrations today and the way the government seeks some kind of negotiations.”
According to a source in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “there are great concerns about the deteriorating political climate and the lack of democratic transparency” and the government will do everything possible to protect the personal safety and civil and political rights of opposition members and to intensify dialogue with regional actors, especially with Brazil and Colombia.
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