Germany and seven other EU states now recognize Juan Guiadó as Venezuela's transitional president. But a common position of the European Union does not exist in the matter. Blame is apparently Italy. Rome did not want to join the ultimatum that, among other things, the federal government had placed the previous Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
Now Italy has probably blocked a single line of the EU for good. The government in Rome refuses to recognize opposition leader Guaidó as transitional president of the South American country, it said on Monday in diplomatic circles in Brussels.
In the power struggle in Venezuela Guaidó had declared on January 23 Maduro's successor. For his action against the acting for years left-national head of state, he immediately received the support of Washington. The Western states accuse Maduro of eroding democracy in his country and suppressing the opposition.
Decisions must be unanimous
Decisions in foreign policy must be taken unanimously in Brussels. However, at their meeting in Bucharest on Thursday and Friday last week, EU foreign ministers failed to agree on a common stance on Venezuela. Resistance to recognition of Guaidó by all 28 Member States already made Italy. Greece too, according to diplomats, came across.
On Monday there was a new start for an agreement. The EU's External Action Service sent a draft statement to the Member States, which reportedly did not provide for joint recognition. At 10 o'clock Italy asked for an extension of the time limit within which states could object. Shortly before 1pm, Rome finally vetoed.
Sympathizes with the five-star movement with Maduro?
Officially Rome justified its attitude with the principle of non-interference in internal affairs of other countries. However, diplomats suspect that especially Italy's leftist populist five-star movement, which ruled together with the right-wing Lega in Rome, sympathizes with Maduro.
Although there will be no official statement from all 27 EU states until further notice. Meanwhile, however, several countries have published statements that closely follow the draft rejected by Italy. Diplomats expect that in the end more than 20 EU countries will be behind Guaidó.
The EU is expected to make another attempt on Thursday to address the situation in Venezuela: a meeting of the contact group in Bucharest is planned in Uruguay's capital, Montevideo. Representatives of Costa Rica, Ecuador, Uruguay and Bolivia will discuss possible ways out of the crisis with diplomats from Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Sweden, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Italy. The EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner Federica Mogherini should also participate.
"Submission to US War Policy"
The hitherto acting government in Venezuela criticized the European states. "The sovereignty of the Venezuelan people does not depend on the recognition of any foreign governments," a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry in Caracas on Monday said. "The degree of subjugation of these governments to the US government's war policy against Venezuela is alarming."
The government announced that its relations with the European states supporting Guaidó would be put to the test. Maduro had already broken diplomatic relations with the United States.
Opposition politician Guaidó in turn thanked Germany. "We are grateful for the recognition of the efforts of the National Assembly and the Venezuelan people, the support for democracy and the support of humanitarian aid for our country," he wrote on Twitter.