EU no longer considers Venezuela’s Juan Guaido as interim president

EU member states no longer consider Venezuela’s Juan Guaido as interim president, but they called him a ‘privileged interlocutor,’ Report informs referring to Reuters.

The EU’s 27 states had said on Jan. 6 they could no longer legally recognize Guaido after he lost his position as head of parliament following legislative elections in Venezuela in December, despite the EU not recognizing that vote.

Following President Nicolas Maduro’s disputed re-election in 2018, Guaido, as head of parliament, became interim president. The US and the UK still see Guaido as Venezuela’s rightful leader.

In a joint statement, the 27 EU members said that he was part of the democratic opposition - despite a resolution by the European Parliament last week for EU governments to maintain Guaido’s position as head of state.

"The EU repeats its calls for ... the freedom and safety of all political opponents, in particular representatives of the opposition parties elected to the National Assembly of 2015, and especially Juan Guaido," the statement said following a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

"The EU considers them to be important actors and privileged interlocutors," it said, calling for the opposition to unite against the disputed rule of Maduro.

The assembly elected in 2015 was held by the opposition, whereas the new assembly is in the hands of Maduro’s allies after the opposition called on Venezuelans to boycott the vote.