EURACTIV
EU reiterates support for 'rules-based world' after Venezuela attack
France went a step further with its foreign minister condemning the American operation on social media
Europe called for “restraint” and respect for international law in Venezuela on Saturday after President Donald Trump announced US forces had captured leader Nicolas Maduro in a large-scale assault.
“The EU has repeatedly stated that Maduro lacks legitimacy and has defended a peaceful transition” in Venezuela, the bloc’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas wrote on X after speaking with her US counterpart Marco Rubio.
“Under all circumstances, the principles of international law and the UN Charter must be respected. We call for restraint,” she wrote.
Her comments were echoed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa, with Commission Vice-President Teresa Ribera adding that “we need a rules-based world.”
France went a step further with its foreign minister condemning the American operation on social media. According to Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, Maduro “gravely violated” the rights of Venezuelans, but the military operation that led to him being grabbed “contravenes the principle of non-use of force, which underpins international law.”
“No lasting political solution can be imposed from the outside”, he said, warning that “the increasing violations” of this principle by permanent UN Security Council members “will have serious consequences for global security, sparing no one.”
Other countries have yet to go so far. The German government’s crisis team met at the Foreign Ministry on Saturday after which the ministry only urged Germans to remain in a safe place and noted that they are in ‘close contact’ with the embassy in Caracas.
More supportive of the American action was Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni who described it as “legitimate” even as she said outside military force should not be used for regime change.
“The government believes that external military action is not the way to end totalitarian regimes, but at the same time considers defensive intervention against hybrid attacks on its security to be legitimate, as in the case of state entities that fuel and promote drug trafficking,” the far-right leader – an ally of US President Donald Trump – said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Madrid called for “de-escalation and moderation” in line with international law and the UN Charter. Spain also offered to mediate a “peaceful solution” in Venezuela, while reiterating that it does not recognise the results of Venezuela’s 2024 election.
The EU has likewise not recognised the results of the disputed 2024 election that handed Maduro a third term in power, and has slapped sanctions on dozens of Venezuelan officials for undermining democracy in the country.
It has stopped short, however, of formally recognising opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as Venezuela’s rightful leader, as the United States has done.
Gonzalez Urrutia ran as a last-minute stand-in for opposition figurehead Maria Corina Machado, who was barred from contesting last year’s election, and then fled Venezuela for Madrid.
European Parliament groups divided
The right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) said Maduro’s capture could pave the way for a democratic transition, arguing the former regime lacked legitimacy.
The party’s co-chair, Patryk Jaki expressed full support for Trump’s actions, calling them “a real opportunity for Venezuela to finally return to democracy and constitutional order.” Fellow co-chair Nicola Procaccini added that the moment must lead to “an orderly democratic transition, restoring constitutional order and respect for the will of the Venezuelan people.”
However, this position is not shared elsewhere on the European political spectrum.
The Greens criticised the intervention, with co-chairs Vula Tsetsi and Ciarán Cuffe stating that US military involvement violates international law and further destabilises the region without a UN mandate.
Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, Chair of the Parliament’s Security and Defence Committee (SEDE, Renew), wrote on social media that Trump was “trampling on international law” and that his actions serve as a warning to Denmark and Greenland of what Trump might be prepared to do if his demands were not met voluntarily.
She added that while Venezuela’s liberation from Maduro would be positive, it must come from within the country, cautioning that legitimising the US approach would “destroy any credibility the West has left.”
(cp)
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