Venezuela: call for freedom and humanitarian aid

Release all political prisoners and allow humanitarian organisations to help the neediest in Venezuela! This is the message of the European Parliament Resolution adopted today at the proposal of the EPP Group.

MEPs are calling on the Venezuelan government to respect the rule of law, expressing grave concern at the seriously deteriorating situation as regards democracy, human rights and the socio-economic situation in the country, whose people are denied access to basic daily products.

Spanish MEP Luis de Grandes, EPP Group negotiator of the resolution, stressed that: "We want to convey our profound solidarity with the people of Venezuela. Today's resolution outlines the Parliament's main concerns as regards the abuses by the Venezuelan government and aims to contribute to an improvement of the situation in the country."

"Venezuela is suffering the world's deepest recession and highest inflation rate. This should not happen in a country that holds the world's largest oil reserves," said Italian MEP Antonio Tajani, Vice-President of the European Parliament responsible for Latin America.

"It is urgent to solve the serious economic and social crisis facing Venezuelans every day that has caused an alarming shortage of food, medicines and commodities, so we ask the government of this country to accept humanitarian aid while searching for solutions to this situation,” outlined De Grandes, adding that, "It is urgent that Maduro’s government immediately releases all political prisoners and that the human rights of all Venezuelans are respected, without any distinction as to their ideology or profession."

"The European Parliament has also clearly expressed its concern about the institutional impasse in the country, caused by government control over the other powers of the country, which is preventing the implementation of laws and initiatives adopted legitimately by the National Assembly," he said.

"The EU continues to stand ready to cooperate with Venezuela and its democratically-elected authorities in the interest of all Venezuelans, but the Venezuelan government should respect the new National Assembly, peacefully elected by the people of Venezuela last December," added Tajani.

To this end, the EPP Group MEPs underlined that the European Parliament has also called on the Venezuelan government to respect the legal mechanisms relating to the call for a referendum on the continuity of the President of the country before the end of 2016.

The resolution was supported by the four major political groups in the European Parliament - EPP, S&D, ECR and ALDE.