JN / Agencies
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The European Union (EU) has decided to declare the head of the Venezuelan mission to the European institutions as a ‘persona non grata’, responding to the announcement made by Caracas to give the Community ambassador 72 hours to leave the country.
“At the initiative of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy [Josep Borell], the Council agreed today that the Head of Mission of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela [Claudia Salerno Caldera] to the European Union be declared ‘persona non grata’ “, announces the EU in a press release.
The Council emphasizes that this “is a response to the Venezuelan government’s decision to declare the head of the EU delegation in Venezuela as a ‘persona non grata'”.
“The EU considers this declaration to be totally unjustified and contrary to the EU’s objective of developing relations and building partnerships in third countries”, the structure said in which the member states are represented.
The Venezuelan Government on Wednesday notified the head of the EU delegation in Caracas, Portuguese diplomat Isabel Brilhante Pedrosa, that she was declared a ‘persona non grata’ and that she is expected to leave the country within the next 72 hours.
The notification was made by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza during a meeting in Caracas.
This was a reaction to the decision taken on Monday by European diplomatic chiefs to extend the list of personalities linked to the sanctioned Venezuelan regime.
In a statement to Lusa hours after Wednesday’s announcement, a community spokesman said the EU urged Venezuelan authorities to “reverse this decision”, noting that it “directly” undermines efforts to, through dialogue , a way out of the current crisis can be found.
“Venezuela will only overcome its current crisis through negotiation and dialogue, with which the EU is fully committed, but which this decision directly harms,” added the same spokesman.
This is the second time that Venezuela has declared the European Union representative in Venezuela, Portuguese diplomat Isabel Brilhante Pedrosa, ‘persona non grata’.
On May 29, 2020, President Nicolás Maduro ordered his expulsion, giving him 72 hours to leave the country. The decision was made just hours after Brussels sanctioned 11 more Caracas officials.
On July 2, Nicolás Maduro welcomed an agreement between Brussels and Caracas to suspend the expulsion of the diplomat and urged the EU to change its relationship with the South American state.
The EU on Monday added 19 people to the list of sanctions aimed at personalities in the Venezuelan regime, due to their “role in acts and decisions that undermine democracy and the rule of law” in the country.
With the addition of these 19 individuals, the sanctions package against Venezuela now targets a total of 55 personalities, who are banned from traveling to Europe and have their assets frozen in European space.
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