Copenhagen, 4-5 september 2017<\/p>\n
As the political, economic and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela continues to worsen, the European People\u2019s Party strongly declares its support for the country\u2019s democratic institutions, its solidarity with the suffering Venezuelan people and their democratically elected representatives and its 8 insistence on a return to constitutional order and governance. The recently installed \u201cCommunal Constituent Assembly\u201d \u2014 chosen in a dubious 30 July election denounced by the company conducting the electronic voting as a fake election, whose legitimacy the European Union, along with many other observers, has not recognised and which others have denounced as a coup d\u2019\u00e9tat \u2014 has assumed legislative powers and been tasked with re-writing the constitution, all in order to legitimise President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro\u2019s further consolidation of power; this process is meant to undermine what remains of Venezuela\u2019s democratic order, and the EPP rejects it unequivocally. It is long past time for the Maduro regime to heed the voices of the Venezuelan people. It is time for a clear timetable for free and fair national elections.<\/p>\n