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The High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallaannounced this Monday that he will propose lifting the community sanctions that weigh on the interim president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, as requested by the Government of Pedro Sánchez.
However, the head of European diplomacy explained, after the EU Foreign Affairs Council, that she still does not know if the necessary consensus exists between the 27 Member States to remove the former number two from Nicolas Maduro from the European ‘black list’.
In any case, Kallas assumes that after the Donald Trump’s military intervention in Venezuelathe EU must define a new strategy towards this Latin American country, in which the lifting of the rest of the sanctions and the normalization of relations must be conditional on the Rodríguez Government advancing democratization.
Upon his arrival at the Council of Foreign Affairs, the minister Jose Manuel Albares has defended the short-term lifting of sanctions against Rodríguez as a reward for the recent approval of the amnesty law for political prisoners, but also to facilitate dialogue between the EU and Venezuela.
Delcy Rodríguez was included in the EU’s ‘blacklist’ in June 2018 as responsible for the repression in Venezuela. As a result, she is prohibited from entering EU territory, all her assets in Europe have been frozen and no financial transactions can be carried out with her.
“I will propose that we lift the sanctions against Delcy Rodríguez as the current acting president. Whether there will be consensus or not remains to be seen; We still don’t know,” said the High Representative at a press conference.
In parallel, the EU intends to “open a broader debate on what our new approach to the Venezuelan authorities should be.”
“There I think we could establish certain parameters: what we want to see from Venezuela, so that we also take steps on our part,” Kallas indicated.
Apart from Delcy Rodriguezthe EU’s ‘blacklist’ currently includes 68 other senior officials of the Venezuelan regime identified for their involvement in electoral manipulation and the persecution of dissent. In addition, the European bloc maintains a total embargo on weapons and equipment that could be used for repression.
Albares explained that he had previously spoken with both Kallas and a large number of EU foreign ministers and that he is confident that the lifting of the sanctions on Delcy Rodríguez will be approved quickly.