The European Parliament takes the crisis in Venezuela to the plenary session with differences on how to express support for Edmundo González

BRUSSELS, September 11 () –

The European Parliament will hold a debate on Tuesday focused on the crisis in Venezuela following the presidential elections on July 28, with different proposals on how to support the opposition candidate Edmundo González, who has been in refuge in Spain since last Sunday.

This was agreed by the Conference of Presidents, which brings together the leaders of the different parliamentary groups, with the support of the Popular Party, the Socialists and the Liberals, who have promoted a debate with the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, and a resolution, which will be published on Thursday.

In any case, the text that will set the position of the European Parliament reflects the different sensitivities regarding the Venezuelan crisis within the EU. The PP are inclined to recognise the opposition candidate as the winner of the elections, according to the PP spokesperson in the European Parliament, Dolors Montserrat, and in the Congress of Deputies they have pushed for him to be treated as the elected and legitimate president.

For their part, the Liberals, at the request of PNV MEP Oihane Agirregoitia, will push for Edmundo González to be recognised as the winner of the Venezuelan presidential elections, following the line set by the High Representative, who in his latest statement stated that González, according to the copies of the publicly available minutes, “would be the presidential candidate who won the elections by a large majority.”

Jet sources told Europa Press that his proposal is in line with the language expressed by the head of European diplomacy and will therefore not address the issue of an elected president.

Meanwhile, in the case of the socialists, the group called for a debate on Venezuela that would include a resolution, but parliamentary sources insist on not going beyond the common position of the EU, which does not recognise González as Venezuelan president.

For the moment, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has defended having “room for mediation” with Venezuela, ruling out so far promoting the recognition of Edmundo González as president and stressing the importance of maintaining unity in the EU on the crisis in Venezuela.

This Wednesday, Congress has demanded not only the recognition of Edmundo González as “legitimate” president, but also that the Executive lead this recognition in European institutions and international bodies, with the aim of ensuring that he takes office as Venezuelan president on January 10, 2025.