EU agrees to swiftly adopt new sanctions on Venezuela over election
Foreign ministers of the European Union have agreed to act swiftly to impose a new series of sanctions on Venezuelan officials involved in the re-election of President Nicolas Maduro.
Ministers from the 28 EU states agreed on Monday that the bloc should start work on new sanctions on Venezuela that could be formally adopted at a meeting on June 25 in Luxembourg.
“The EU will act swiftly, according to established procedures, with the aim of imposing additional targeted and reversible restrictive measures,” said the top diplomats after agreeing on the move.
The ministers said the sanctions would only target those involved in Maduro’s re-election, expressing hope that they would not harm the Venezuelan population.
They claimed the recent election in May, in which Maduro won 68% of the vote, lacked credibility and did not cover all voices from the opposition.
“The election and its outcome lacked any credibility as the electoral process did not ensure the necessary guarantees for inclusive and democratic elections,” said the EU ministers.
Many Western governments have been irked by results of the vote in Venezuela, an oil-rich South American country hit by an economic crisis. Venezuela has rejected the claims, saying the recent vote was fair and democratic.
Caracas has accused the EU of “prejudice” in its reaction to the vote, saying last week that it had offered the EU to send observers to the election but the bloc declined the invitation.
The EU has already imposed sanctions on Venezuela, including those in January that blacklisted the country’s interior minister.
Brussels warned in April that it would adopt further sanctions if it reached the conclusion that the elections were not fair.
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