Meeting of senior EEAS officials and representatives of the illegitimate government of Nicolás Maduro

Question for written answer  E-002057/2021
to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Rule 138
Jordi Cañas (Renew)

On 15 April 2020, the media reported on the ‘official’ visit to Brussels of a delegation from the illegitimate Venezuelan National Assembly, who were met by senior officials of the European External Action Service (EEAS).

This ‘official’ meeting came as a great surprise, especially following both the official declaration by the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the illegal elections held in Venezuela on 6 December 2020, and the fact that a new illegitimate National Assembly was appointed by the Maduro regime after the elections. The Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative himself specifically claimed not to recognise that assembly in his press release published on 6 January 2021. The European Parliament adopted a clear stance on the matter in its resolution of 21 January 2021 (P9_TA(2021)0019), in which it reiterated that the only legitimate representatives of the country are those elected in 2015.

Can the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative confirm on what legitimate grounds he authorised his EEAS team to meet the Venezuelan delegation?

How does the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative explain the inconsistency between his official press release of January 2021 and the fact that this meeting took place?