The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain, José Manuel Albares, asked this Monday that the European Union lift its sanctions on Venezuela, as the United States has done, given the progress of negotiations between the Government of Nicolás Maduro and the opposition.
"I have intervened with my colleagues to raise the need to study the review of the EU sanctions on Venezuela, in line with the recent decisions of the United States and given the positive evolution of the dialogue between Venezuelans," Albares said in a press conference. , at the end of the meeting that the foreign ministers held today in Luxembourg.
As explained by Albares, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, was in favor of addressing the issue at an upcoming meeting of EU foreign ministers, given that, otherwise, the sanctions would be automatically renewed on November 14. . The next meeting of the ministers is scheduled for November 13.
The United States announced last week a six-month easing of sanctions on Venezuelan oil and gas after the Maduro government and the opposition Unitary Platform signed a guarantee agreement in Barbados for the presidential elections in the second half of 2024. which includes electoral observation.
The EU sanctions - which it approved for the first time in 2016 - affect, among others, the vice president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez.
The restrictive measures consist of the prohibition of sanctioned persons from entering community territory and the freezing of property and assets they have in the EU.
