Hungary vetoes EU joint statement on Venezuelan elections - Politico
Kyiv • UNN
Hungary vetoed the EU's joint statement on the Venezuelan elections, where Maduro was declared the winner. Borrell has independently expressed concerns about shortcomings and irregularities during the vote.
The EU failed to present a united front on the disputed elections in Venezuela after Hungary vetoed a statement expressing concern over alleged "flaws and irregularities" in the vote and calling for greater transparency, Politico reports, citing sources, UNN writes.
Details
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner of the July 28 presidential election in the country by a government-controlled electoral body, giving him about 51% of the vote against 44% for his opponent Edmund Gonzalez Urrutia. However, the government did not explain how these results were calculated and verified, the newspaper points out.
"EU countries wanted to issue a joint statement expressing concern over Monday's result, but they were prevented by Budapest's position," two officials familiar with the discussions told the newspaper.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell subsequently issued a statement saying that "credible reports from domestic and international observers indicate that the election was marred by numerous flaws and irregularities" on his own behalf.
Realizing that Hungary is likely to remain intransigent, Borrell issued the following statement on his own behalf on Tuesday, instead of seeking support from the 27 EU member states, the newspaper notes.
"The data that the [Venezuelan] opposition has provided to the public suggests a radically different outcome than the one announced by the authorities," Borrell said in his second statement.
"Until the voting protocols are made public and verified, the election results, as they have been announced, cannot be recognized," the statement reads.
"Hungary's veto underscores a fundamental flaw in EU foreign policy, which requires decisions - including potential future sanctions against Venezuela - to be unanimously agreed upon by the bloc's 27 member states. This has led several countries, such as Germany, to advocate for qualified majority decision-making in foreign policy," the newspaper writes.
The Hungarian government could not be immediately reached for comment on the reasons for its veto.
