The European Parliament on September 19 passed a non-binding resolution recognising Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia as the "legitimate and democratically elected President of Venezuela", marking a significant shift in parliamentary alliances and sparking controversy.

The resolution, which passed with 309 votes in favour, 201 against, and 12 abstentions, comes after González claimed victory in July's disputed presidential election that saw incumbent Nicolás Maduro secure a third six-year term amid widespread allegations of fraud.

In an unprecedented move, the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) joined forces with the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and the newly-formed hard-right Patriots for Europe, a group founded by Hungarian PM Viktor Orban, to pass the resolution. This alliance conspicuously breaks the traditional "cordon sanitaire" that has kept extreme right-wing forces at bay in the European Parliament.

“Maduro is a sadistic and cruel tyrant who lives in a delusion, has rigged elections, and works with criminals and drug traffickers to harass his people. There are now more than 25 dead and 2,000 political prisoners. Terrible examples are being made of dissidents,” stated Carlo Fidanza, an MEP for the right-wing Brothers of Italy party.

The adopted text urges EU governments to recognise González’s victory and to request an international arrest warrant for Maduro. It also calls for sanctions on "Maduro and his inner circle.”

Former diplomat González Urrutia, 75, who has been recently granted political asylum in Spain, thanked the European Parliament for the vote, hailing “the recognition of the sovereign will of the people of Venezuela.”

The Venezuelan opposition has published voting records suggesting González won July's presidential vote by a landslide, a claim corroborated in a United Nations report. However, EU member states have refrained from recognising him as the legitimate president until the CNE publishes the full, verified breakdown. The electoral body, packed with Chavista loyalists, has so far refused to release detailed voting records to back up the official results.

The EU resolution also recognises María Corina Machado as the leader of the democratic forces in Caracas, further challenging the Maduro regime's authority.

"MEPs welcome the role that the governments of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico are playing and urge regional actors and the international community to exert maximum pressure on Maduro’s regime to accept the democratic will of the Venezuelan people," the resolution reads.

Javi López, a Spanish MEP from the Socialist Party, criticised the vote, telling Euronews that Europe's centre-left Socialist & Democrats faction had opposed the text to maintain "coherence" with member states and ensure that recognition, when it comes, is "legitimate".

Echoing this statement, in an interview with AFP French Socialist MEP Raphael Glucksmann said, "This deeply worrying act shows the conservatives' total lack of scruples or any reluctance to ally themselves with political forces contrary to the fundamental values of democratic Europe.”

In the past weeks, tensions have soared between Venezuela and the EU, particularly with Spain. Maduro's government recently summoned the Spanish ambassador in Caracas after Spain's defence minister dubbed the regime a "dictatorship". EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell had previously described the regime as "dictatorial" and "authoritarian".

Adding to the complexity, González recently disclosed that he had signed a letter recognising Maduro's victory under duress from high-ranking Venezuelan officials to secure his safe departure from the country following an arrest warrant issued by government-linked prosecutors.

"I had to either sign it or deal with the consequences," he wrote on X, citing "coercion, blackmail and pressure".

He has since reaffirmed his claim to the presidency in a video statement.