The European Union will create a contact group on Venezuela to seek a solution to the crisis through elections

The European Union on Thursday announced the creation of a contact group of European and Latin American countries of "90-day" duration to work towards an end to the crisis of the European Union. Venezuela through elections.

"The goal of the international contact group is clear. allow Venezuelans to freely and democratically express themselves in new elections"said Federica Mogherini, head of European diplomacy, at the end of a meeting of foreign ministers of the bloc in Bucharest.

The EU wanted to launch this initiative in mid-February but, faced with the worsening of the crisis in Venezuela after the proclamation of the opposition, Juan Guaidó, interim president, she decided to move forward.

Europeans seek to "create a climate of trust and create the conditions for a credible process", leading to electionsMogherini explained, stating that the duration of "90 days" is to avoid using this group to "buy time".

The former Italian Foreign Minister said that the first meeting of the group, whose purpose is not to mediate but "accompany" the country in an outing "peaceful" and "democratic" crisis, could take place. next week at the ministerial level in a Latin American country, which did not specify.

France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom will be part of it.as well as Ecuador, Costa Rica, Uruguay and Bolivia. "We are waiting for the confirmation of some others," he added.

On the recognition of Guaidó as interim president of Venezuela, as asked the European Parliament in the morning, the head of European diplomacy badured that It's not up to the EU to do it, but to its individual countries.

A group of states, among them Spain, France, Germany and the United Kingdom have given dictator Nicolás Maduro until Monday his mandate to call a presidential election, under penalty of recognizing Guaidó, what the Chavista leader had already rejected.

The meeting of Chancellors in the Romanian capital served "discuss next steps countries could take in the coming days and coordinate our positions as much as possible, "added the head of diplomacy.

The EU also reserves the right to impose "new sanctions on Venezuelan personalities"warned Mogherini. The bloc has always avoided imposing sanctions on the country's economic sectors that could exacerbate the humanitarian crisis.