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Dutch minister supports ‘practical’ EU approach to Venezuela

by AI | 31.Aug 2024 | Europe in brief AI

The EU is not yet proceeding to recognize the opposition candidate as the winner of the presidential elections of Venezuela.

Protesters wave flags in a protest against Venezuelan President Maduro.

BRUSSEL (ANP) – The European Union opts for a “practical approach” regarding the controversial outcome of the presidential elections in Venezuela on July 28. This was stated by the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Caspar Veldkamp after a meeting with his EU colleagues in Brussels.

The fact that the EU, unlike the United States for example, does not proceed to a full recognition of opposition candidate Edmundo González fits into that approach. “You can choose to recognize or not recognize, but by doing so you take a stance for the stage. What matters is whether we can actually bring about a change in Venezuela.” Veldkamp says that the key to such a democratic shift lies with major players in the region such as Brazil and Colombia and that the European Union aligns its policy with them.

The Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González himself was present via a video link during the Brussels meeting and provided an explanation of the situation in the South American country. His opponent Nicolás Maduro has been president since 2013 and has now declared himself the winner without convincing evidence. Political protests since the elections have already led to at least 27 fatalities.

“After his introduction, we continued speaking among ourselves. We are very concerned about the situation, with more and more opposition members being arrested.” According to Veldkamp, the economic tide and repression under Maduro have already caused massive refugee flows in recent years, especially to neighboring Colombia, but also to Curaçao and Aruba, which lie just off the coast of Venezuela. At the moment, Veldkamp does not see a significant increase in migrants. “But we are monitoring it closely and I have also been in direct contact with the prime ministers of Aruba and Curaçao about this.”

(August 29, 2024)