Professor: EU Sanctions on Venezuela 'Pandering to Very Unsuccessful US Policy'

02:26 GMT, 27 June 2018

The European Union announcing economic sanctions on Venezuela, is this a wise choice from Brussels, or are they merely following in the footsteps of American President Trump in order to avoid further tariffs from Washington? Sputnik spoke with Julia Buxton; Professor of Politics at the University Of Central Europe to find out.

Sputnik

Sputnik: Was the EU justified in sanctioning Venezuela?

Julia Buxton: The EU cannot justify the sanctioning of 11 Venezuela officials and I think that this is pandering to very unsuccessful US policy and it won’t help Venezuela get any closer to democratisation or to addressing the human rights issues brought up at the UN.

Sputnik: What impact do sanctions have on ordinary Venezuelans?

Julia Buxton: These EU sanctions are asset freezes and a travel ban on officials only, so it won’t have much impact on ordinary Venezuelans. By contrast, US sanctions on the financial sector are really limiting Venezuela’s ability to borrow in international markets and is having devastating social consequences.

The views expressed in this article are those of the speaker, and do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.