Hungary Blocks Joint EU Statement on Election Fraud in Venezuela

The EU was unable to issue a joint statement on behalf of all member states regarding the election results in Venezuela because Hungary vetoed it.

This was reported by Politico, citing its own sources.

Authoritarian Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner of the presidential election on 28 July. The government-controlled electoral body announced that Maduro had won with about 51% of the vote. The opposition claimed that the election was fraudulent and that their candidate had won.

EU countries wanted to issue a joint statement on Monday to express concern over the election results, but were prevented by Budapest's position, two officials familiar with the discussions told the newspaper.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell issued a statement on his own behalf saying that ‘credible reports from domestic and international observers indicate that the election was marred by numerous flaws and irregularities’.

Realising that Hungary was likely to remain intransigent, Borrell issued a second statement on Tuesday on his own behalf, rather than seeking support from the 27 EU member states.

‘The data that the (Venezuelan) opposition has provided to the public shows radically different results from those announced by the authorities,’ Borrell said in his second statement.

‘Until the voting protocols are made public and verified, the election results already announced cannot be recognised,’ the statement said.

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 27 member states. Some countries, such as Germany, favour qualified majority decision-making in foreign policy.

The United States also has ‘serious concerns’ about the veracity of the Venezuelan electoral commission's announcement that Nicolas Maduro won the presidential election.

As The Gaze previously reported, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell called on Venezuela to ensure ‘full transparency of the electoral process’ after President Nicolas Maduro was re-elected in a controversial vote.