Borrell regrets that Venezuela revoked the invitation to the EU to observe the elections

In an interview with EFE, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, regretted that Venezuela revoked the European Union’s (EU) invitation to observe the presidential elections on July 28 and considered that its presence would have had “a very important added value.”

“I think the European Union would have provided a very important added value and I am very sorry that the Venezuelan government did not want us to be there,” said Borrell, who spoke to EFE on the sidelines of the NATO summit that ends this Thursday in Washington.

The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy said that these missions are “the jewel in the crown of the Union’s foreign policy” and that no other type of election observation can compare with that provided by the community mission.

According to the Venezuelan government, more than 635 international observers have confirmed their visit to Venezuela to witness the electoral process, including members of the Carter Center, founded by former US President Jimmy Carter (1977-1981).

“I believe that no one is in a position to carry out an electoral observation mission as comprehensive, as numerous, as technically capable and as experienced as the European Union. The Carter Foundation is there, very well, welcome, but it is not comparable either in size, or in scope, or in the length of stay,” Borrell said.

In this way, he emphasized that the absence of the EU electoral observation mission will prevent the international community from having the guarantee that these elections can be “approved” and that “the free expression of Venezuelans” has been allowed.

“EU missions are highly respected, recognised and valued. Being or not being there allows or prevents you from having a say in how things develop and therefore we cannot say that those choices have or have not been one way or another,” he explained.

Until the end of May, an EU mission was on the list of observers invited to Venezuela, but the National Electoral Council (CNE) revoked the invitation due to the ratification of personal and individual sanctions by the community bloc once morest members of the Government and the ruling party.

When the invitation was cancelled, the president of the CNE, Elvis Amoroso, stated that the EU sanctions harm the Venezuelan people and accentuate the crisis in the country, even though they have no effect on public assets or state-owned companies, so they do not affect the well-being of citizens or affect their interests.

In 2021, when the same sanctions were already in place for officials and various politicians, an EU mission was deployed across the country to monitor the regional election process.

Ten candidates will compete on July 28, including President Nicolás Maduro, who is seeking re-election, and former ambassador Edmundo González Urrutia, standard-bearer of the main opposition coalition.

Washington / EFE