Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We do not accept that the election was run in a free and fair way, without intimidation. What we are trying to do now is ensure there is an interim mechanism that will facilitate free and fair presidential elections.

Members referred to Yemen, Iraq, the DRC, Libya and so forth. We talk about those issues all the time. I was speaking specifically about some of them in the United Nations Human Rights Council this week, so there should be less lecturing with regard to comparing crises. There are legitimate and real concerns about many countries across the world but that does not mean we should ignore the scale of what is happening in an influential country in South America.

The EU has tried, but on many occasions it is not able to respond to such crises with one voice. However, it was able to do it in this instance. The EU is often criticised for not being able to have a collective influence and impact for the better in different parts of the world. We are trying to respond to that criticism in respect of Venezuela.

Regarding the humanitarian response the EU is trying provide to Yemen, Ireland committed €5 million to it yesterday. The Minister of State, Deputy Cannon, was responsible for that. Let us not start comparing all of these areas. What we are trying to do here is be part of a collective EU effort to build pressure to try to deliver a democratic solution. There has been a recognition of a temporary president to facilitate that, as opposed to anything more permanent than that. This is not about overthrowing governments; it is about trying to facilitate an election that can allow the Venezuelan people to decide what kind of government they want.

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