On October 13, Josep Borrell, head of the European External Action Service, ratified he will send observers to the Venezuelan elections on November 21, despite the publication a day earlier by the Financial Times of a European Union’s experts in the field report which revealed that » The deployment of an EU (mission) is likely to have an adverse impact on the reputation and credibility of EU (observers) and indirectly legitimise Venezuela’s electoral process»
On the same day, Borrell accused Leopoldo López and Juan Guaidó, renowned leaders of the Venezuelan opposition, of intending to «blow up» the observation «even though their parties are running for election.» On October 14, after these political disagreements, Peter Sano, Borrell’s spokesman, affirmed that the European Union is willing “to withdraw the mission, if something changes”, referring to the conditions agreed between the European Union and the Venezuelan State.
According to Peter Sano, the mission of experts in Venezuela made an «exploration» in July. By September and October, he affirmed, the Venezuelan situation was «very fluid», with «many events», which contributed to the European Union taking the decision to send the mission. The spokesperson pointed out that aspects such as the decision of the opposition parties to participate in the elections, the cancellation of restrictions on their candidates, as well as the validity of the agreement guaranteeing that the European mission will carry out its work «in accordance with its own methodology», were decisive for the approval of electoral oversight.
This decision is part of a set of international agreements and measures that the Venezuelan government has adopted in recent months to convey the feeling that the political situation is improving. In the country there are no conditions for free, transparent, and reliable elections, given the government’s high levels of control and repression over civil society as a whole. The European Union must reconsider its stance and ask the government to agree with Venezuelan society and the international community on the necessary conditions and guarantees for Venezuela to hold authentic elections.