Remarks by High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini at the press conference following the International solidarity conference on the Venezuelan refugee and migrant crisis

First of all, let me say that I was really honoured to host together with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organisation for Migration this two-day conference to mobilise global solidarity for Venezuelan refugees and migrants. We welcomed 120 delegations – obviously from European Union Member States and Latin American countries, countries that are directly suffering the impact of the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, but also international financial institutions, civil society, NGOs, the private sector and countries from all around the world, from the far East of Asia to the Gulf countries – to first of all clearly say that the Venezuelan crisis and its humanitarian impact need to go back on top of the international agenda. I believe that the conference has been a success in this respect.

We count obviously also on you to report about the mobilisation that the global community has managed to put in place so far and it is committed to do so in the future, but also to send a strong message of solidarity to Venezuelans who are suffering a crisis that is at the same time political, economic, social and humanitarian and to the host communities in the neighbouring countries – and not only in the neighboring countries, but in all Latin America – that are hosting impressive numbers of refugees and migrants as a result of this crisis.

We have clearly said that this was not a pledging conference. And yet, there were commitments made during these two days that are good news. Around 120 million euros were announced today as additional contributions from individual delegations. And that comes on top of the additional 30 million euros that European Union institutions are mobilising in these days. The European Union and the Member States have mobilised 320 million euros so far and are ready to do more.

We have stressed that we do not only welcome and admire the hospitality, the open arms and open borders policy of the Latin American countries towards Venezuelan refugees and migrants, but also that we commit to supporting this policy. And this is more important than anything else, because we know, especially we Europeans know, how difficult it is. And we know that praising them is not enough. What is needed is concrete support. And this is why the conference today, I think, has been so important. We also expressed a strong support for the regional coordination mechanisms that Latin American countries have managed to put in place in close coordination, obviously, with the UN agencies.

And in a couple of weeks’ time there will be another meeting of the Quito Process in Bogota that we support collectively very much. And we have also decided to establish a form of support group, a group of friends of the Quito Process, to mobilise international support to the regional response to this crisis.

I believe that in terms of political, financial, and technical support, this has been an important step to be continued to be followed up, obviously knowing that the real solution to this refugees and migrants crisis will be the political solution that will allow Venezuela to regain a peaceful and democratic life. And you know that the European Union is working closely together with our partners in the region to try to achieve that result.

But in the meantime, we cannot avoid giving an urgent response to the humanitarian situation that Venezuelans and the host communities are facing. And so this double track today, I think, has been successfully put in place.

Let me finish by thanking from the bottom of my heart and personally both Filippo Grandi [United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees] the Antonio Vitorino [Director General of the International Organisation for Migration]. This conference has been possible thanks to the excellent cooperation between the three of us and our teams. And to me, this is the best example of how the European Union and the UN system managed to work together with effective results. And I want to really thank them for all the work – difficult work – that they are doing together with their respective agencies and organisations. So thank you very much.

Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-179805