The EU was unable to issue a single statement on behalf of all member states regarding the election results in Venezuela because Hungary vetoed it.
This became known to Politico from its own sources, according to Yevropeiska Pravda.
Authoritarian Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner of the presidential election on July 28. The government-controlled electoral body announced that Maduro won with the support of about 51% of the vote. The opposition claimed that the election was fraudulent and that their candidate had won.
EU countries wanted to issue a joint statement on Monday to express concern over the election results, but were prevented by Budapest's position, two officials familiar with the discussion told the newspaper.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell issued a statement on his own behalf saying that “credible reports from domestic and international observers indicate that the election was marred by numerous flaws and irregularities.”
Realizing that Hungary was likely to remain intransigent, Borrell issued a second statement on Tuesday on his own behalf, instead of seeking support from the 27 EU member states.
“The data that the (Venezuelan) opposition has provided to the public shows radically different results from those announced by the authorities,” Borrell said in his second statement.
Author - Dmitriy Levchenko, 31/07/2024