The acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, proposed to his European counterparts to review the sanctions of the EU against Venezuela due to the progress recorded in the dialogue between the Government of Nicolas Maduro and the opposition.
Albares formulated this proposal during the Foreign Affairs Council held in Luxembourg, suggesting that the Twenty-seventh study “the review of the sanctions of European Union to Venezuela in accordance with the recent decisions of the United States in that regard and given the positive evolution of the dialogue between the Venezuelans.
The minister pointed out this in the agreement reached last week in Barbados by the Government and the Unitary Platform that unites the main opposition parties in view of holding the presidential elections in the second half of 2024, which among other things includes “the right of each political party to choose its candidate for the presidential election freely and in accordance with its internal mechanism.”
As a result of the said agreement, the United States announced the temporary lifting of some sanctions imposed on Venezuela’s oil sector, after Caracas released five political prisoners, including a former congressman. Juan Requesens and the reporter Roland Carreno.
According to Albares, the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, “agreed” to his request and advanced that it will take “that review study” to the next Foreign Affairs Council.
In July, during the summit between the EU and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), Borrell announced that The EU is ready to ease sanctions as long as there is progress towards holding “inclusive” and “democratic” elections.
Currently, the EU maintains an embargo on weapons and all materials that can be used for internal repression in Venezuela, as well as a travel ban and the freezing of assets of 55 Venezuelans responsible for human rights abuses. human rights and to undermine democracy and the rule of law in the country
