The Socialists and Democrats denounce the EPP’s decision to team up with the extreme right in the European Parliament for a resolution on the situation in Venezuela, which was voted today. With this decision, the EPP is showing its true face by breaking its commitment to respect the cordon sanitaire and normalising anti-European extremist groups in the European Parliament.

The people of Venezuela deserve more than this; they should not be pawns for the EPP’s political games! Earlier this week, the Socialists and Democrats already called for an end of the repression wave in Venezuela as well as for the full publication of the election results.

The S&D Group condemns Maduro’s repressive policies and attacks on civil society and the opposition. Since the outcome of the presidential elections of July 28th, the Socialists and Democrats have strongly rejected the legitimacy of the election results due to the lack of transparency and minimum guarantees during the electoral process. The S&Ds demand that the Venezuelan electoral authorities release full, transparent and detailed voting results.

Javi López, European Parliament vice-president and S&D negotiator on the resolution on the situation of Venezuela, said:

“The EPP has decided to build on an agreement on Venezuela with Meloni, Orbán and Le Pen, together with the support of the German far right, instead of with the pro-European groups.

“We, the Socialists and Democrats, demand the end of repression in Venezuela and respect for the will expressed at the polls. We have to work to bring back democracy. A hasty recognition of Edmundo González as the winner of the elections is of little use given the precedents.

“The 27 EU governments maintain a cohesive and committed approach to democracy. None of them, nor even those governed by the EPP, have recognised Edmundo González as the winner of the elections. The agreement of the right with the far right weakens our united European position and is a disservice to the Venezuelan people when it imposes its position on the European Parliament alongside those who have little faith in democracy.”

Yannis Maniatis, vice-president of the S&D Group for foreign affairs, security and defence, international energy security and cooperation, said:

“The S&D Group has repeatedly warned about the normalisation of the far right. With this move, the EPP is normalising extremist views in our societies and is guilty of undermining the European Union and its hard-fought values.

“The EU should remain united in its support to the people of Venezuela in their legitimate democratic aspirations. The persecution of political leaders and civil society must stop and the Venezuelan authorities must respect the election results. We will be always on the side of democracy, the protection of human rights and for the defence of the will of the people of Venezuela.”