BRUSSELS (Reuters)

The European Parliament called on EU governments to recognise Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president in a resolution on Thursday (January 21) after a downgrade of his status by the bloc earlier this month.

The EU’s 27 states said on January 6 they can no longer legally recognise Guaido as the country’s legitimate head of state after he lost his position as head of parliament, despite the EU not recognising legislative elections in December.

The resolution, which was approved with 391 votes in favour, 114 against and 177 abstentions, is not legally binding but carries political weight.

The European Parliament “calls on … the member states to unequivocally recognise the constitutional continuation of the legitimate National Assembly of Venezuela elected in 2015 and the legitimate interim President of Venezuela Juan Guaido”, it said.

Guaido is still seen by the United States and Britain as Venezuela’s rightful leader following the disputed 2018 re-election of President Nicolas Maduro. EU diplomats have stressed that the bloc does not recognise Maduro as president.

U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration will continue to recognise Guaido as president, Anthony Blinken, Biden’s nominee for secretary of state, said on Tuesday.

The European Parliament, which was quick to recognise Guaido as interim president in early 2019 and awarded the Venezuelan opposition its annual human rights prize, also called for further sanctions against the Maduro government, on top of those already imposed, to decry what it views as rights violations and the rupture of democracy.

Josep Borrell, the EU foreign policy chief, told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday that the bloc still considered Guaido to be opposition leader and a critical figure in the effort to bring about new presidential elections in Venezuela.

Status as interim president gives Guaido access to funds confiscated from Maduro by Western governments, as well as affording him access to top officials and supporting his pro-democracy movement domestically and internationally.