...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...(EU) as a whole said on Saturday it could recognize the leader of the Venezuelan opposition, Juan Guaidó, sworn in as interim president of the country, if the current government does not announce new elections in the coming days.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement that the European bloc will intensify contacts with its international allies "in the coming hours" on the Venezuelan crisis.
The EU urgently called for new elections, saying that Venezuela's presidential vote last year was not democratic.
Mogherini said that "in the absence of an announcement about the organization of new elections with the necessary guarantees in the coming days, the EU will take new measures, including the question of recognition of the country's leadership."
Moments earlier on Saturday, the governments of Spain, La Belle France, Germany and Britannia set a deadline of eight days for the Venezuelan Nicolás Maduro to call new presidential elections.
The position of Europeans opens a new front in their tensions with Russia, which strongly supports Maduro.