Achieving unity among the European Union’s 27 member states is always a challenge. But that is hardly an excuse for the scale of disappointment presented by EU foreign ministers with their joint statement on Venezuela last week.
To be sure, it contains many good lines. The EU repeats its clear condemnation of the phony Dec. 6 Venezuelan parliamentary elections. They “failed to comply with the international standards for a democratic process,” the ministers wrote. “As a consequence, the EU cannot recognise this electoral process as credible, inclusive or transparent, and thus its outcome cannot be considered as representative of the democratic will of the Venezuelan people.” The EU also lays the blame squarely in the right place: The actions of President Nicolás Maduro’s regime have “persistently prevented the resolution of the profound political crisis in Venezuela.” So far, so good.
