The European Parliament as an international moral platform for the case of Venezuela

Abstract

One of the main aims of the parliamentary diplomacy of the European Parliament (EP) is to safeguard democracy and human rights around the world. Venezuela is a paradigmatic case, especially since Nicolás Maduro came to power in 2013 and political repression in the country increased, leading to a social and economic crisis, as well as the worst humanitarian crisis in Latin America in recent years. Under pressure from the EP, the European Union (EU) has imposed economic sanctions on the Maduro regime since 2017. Meanwhile, the EP awarded its Sakharov Prize to the Venezuelan opposition in 2017 and was the first EU institution to recognise the opposition leader Juan Guaidó as interim president in 2019. This article examines and confirms the EP’s role as an international moral platform for the case of Venezuela.

Keywords

• european parliament
• venezuela
• maduro
• sanctions
• guaidó
• international criminal court
• parliamentary diplomacy