European Union Shortens Venezuela Sanctions Review Amid US Democracy Push

Andreina Itriago Acosta and Nicolle Yapur
·3-min read

(Bloomberg) -- The European Union extended sanctions on Venezuelan officials but shortened their review period in a gesture of goodwill after the resumption of talks between President Nicolás Maduro’s government and the opposition.

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Sanctions will be reassessed in six months, the European Council said in regulations published Monday, instead of a year previously. The bloc enforces travel bans and asset-freeze measures on more than 50 officials accused of human rights violations and undermining democracy in Venezuela. Diosdado Cabello, vice president of the ruling socialist party, and Elvis Amoroso, head of the electoral body, are among those sanctioned.

Maduro’s government resumed talks with a faction of Venezuela’s opposition last month, signing an agreement in Barbados laying out terms for a fair presidential election in 2024. An EU observer mission has yet to be invited by Venezuelan authorities to oversee the vote.

Shortly after the Norway-moderated talks resumed, the US suspended sanctions on Venezuelan oil, gas and gold production for six months and lifted some restrictions on bond trading. Maduro has been given a Nov. 30 deadline to clear a path for all opposition candidates to run in the election and to release political prisoners.

Last week, a top Biden administration official described the US moves as a “pretty big step” that could be swiftly reversed if the Venezuelan government doesn’t live up to its commitments. Still, European companies and nations are beginning to leverage the situation.

French driller Etablissements Maurel & Prom SA signed a landmark contract with state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela on Nov. 8 aimed at increasing oil and gas production in Lake Maracaibo. A few days after, a Hungarian delegation arrived in Caracas to discuss buying natural gas from Venezuela.

New Approach

Some European governments are also reestablishing ties with the Maduro regime after having supported a parallel US-sponsored government led by former National Assembly President Juan Guaidó. The Trump administration push to topple Maduro collapsed this year, when Guaidó was ousted by the opposition, leaving allies to reassess their own policies.

Without a joint EU position on recognizing Maduro, individual nations are upgrading their diplomatic representations.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said during his visit last week that his government, which had supported Guaidó, was appointing a consul in Caracas. And while most European countries still have chargés d’affaires in Venezuela, some — including Portugal and Spain — have started to appoint ambassadors after years of vacancy.

The last EU electoral observation mission in Venezuela took place in 2021, with preliminary report flagging shortcomings and irregularities in the vote that year. The Maduro government dismissed its findings, accused the monitors of being spies, and kicked them out of the country ahead of their scheduled departure.

The EU first introduced restrictive measures against Venezuela in 2017 and has been extending them every November. Other sanctions include an embargo on the sale of arms and equipment used for internal repression.

The Barbados agreement represents a “positive and necessary” step in the dialog aimed at restoring democracy in Venezuela, the EU Council said in a news release announcing its move. It also said it was willing to consider the easing or reversal of restrictive measures depending on how the situation evolves and whether the political agreement is fully implemented.

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