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(2004/C 88 E/0376)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1751/03

by José Ribeiro e Castro (UEN) to the Commission

(27 May 2003)

Subject:   Venezuela – unemployment and referendum

According to Venezuelan media reports, the unemployment rate now stands at 22,6 % in the country and 792 811 people lost their jobs in the last year.

There are regular reports of political confusion in Venezuela and a general climate of social conflict between supporters of President Chávez and the opposition, and there are indications that Mr Chávez is seeking in various ways to prevent the holding of a referendum on the possible revocation of his mandate.

Having regard to the European Parliament's resolution of 13 February 2003, will the Commission answer the following questions:

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(10 July 2003)

Venezuela continues to have an unstable political situation, with society deeply divided between supporters and opponents of the government. Representatives of the government and opposition signed an Agreement on 29 May 2003. The Agreement contains the three main points included in the agenda of the Negotiating Table: support for an electoral solution; investigation of the events of April 2002; and disarming the civilian population. The agreement opens the door to a referendum, provided for in the Constitution, and thus paves the way for a ‘constitutional, peaceful, democratic and electoral’ solution, which the international community, including the Union, has demanded.

It is difficult to forecast how the situation in Venezuela will develop. The procedure envisages the appointment of the members of the National Electoral Council (CNE). Its five members will have to be appointed by the National Assembly, where it may not be easy to reach agreement. It is not clear if the signatures already collected by the opposition, when they attempted to bring about a non-binding referendum in February 2003 against President Chávez staying in office, will be considered valid by the CNE, once established. If this is not the case, the opposition will have to launch a new attempt to collect the signatures needed to call the referendum. These will have to be validated and confirmed to be the right percentage (i.e. at least 20 % of registered voters) by the new CNE. President Chávez has declared that he will respect Article 72 of the Constitution and the Agreement. He insists that the referendum should not be limited to the President but include other elected authorities. Calling early elections remains another possibility for President Chávez.

In parallel, the economy is suffering a grave economic crisis with important social consequences. The forecast for 2003 is one of an economic contraction of 15 % with a jump in unemployment, now standing at around 20 %.

The Commission is closely following the political situation. The Union has fully supported the Organisation of American States (OAS), and the tripartite working group together with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Carter Centre, and the Group of Friends, in their efforts to facilitate a national dialogue. The Union, in several Declarations, has emphasised the need for a peaceful, democratic, constitutional and electoral solution. In the last declaration, 5 June 2003, the Union welcomes the Venezuelan Government and opposition's signing of a political agreement on 29 May 2003 and called upon all parties to proceed without delay to the necessary follow-up needed to implement the Agreement. It also stressed that the Union stands ready to assist in the implementation of the agreement.

In response to the current crisis, the Commission has signed a project to assist the OAS in its efforts to implement possible agreements reached between the parties of the OAS mediated dialogue. The project amounts to EUR 600 000. It includes the three components of the Agreement: support for an electoral solution, investigation of the events of April 2002, and disarming the civilian population. In addition, Venezuela is on the list of countries proposed by the Commission as priorities for possible Election Observation, in the event that an electoral consultation takes place. The final decision on whether to send an Election Observation Mission would be made on the basis of an Exploratory Mission which would assess whether a EU observation is advisable, useful and feasible. The decision on sending on Exploratory Mission will be made once the further electoral process is clarified.

No specific actions to protect Union citizens in Venezuela have been taken at the Union level. Their protection and support is normally ensured by their Member States of origin.

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