Verbatim report of proceedings

Monday, 2 July 2012 - Strasbourg

3. Statement by the President

  President. – On 22 June 2012, the Senate of the Republic of Paraguay removed the directly elected President, Fernando Lugo, from office.

MERCOSUR and UNASUR, the counterparts of the European Union and the European Parliament, suspended Paraguay’s membership in response and declared that they do not recognise the new government under Federico Franco.

A commission of the Organisation of American States has been in Paraguay since yesterday in order to unearth the causes of the dispute. The European Parliament is concerned about the developments in Paraguay.

Given the doubts surrounding what has taken place, we will also look into sending a delegation in order to be able to assess the course of events in detail and then take the necessary follow-up action where appropriate.