UN council mum on Venezuela, EU members warn of virus risks

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The U.N. Security Council took no action after discussing the humanitarian situation in Venezuela behind closed doors on Tuesday but its European Union members said the coronavirus pandemic “risks having a devastating human impact in a country grappling with an already grave economic, social and humanitarian situation.” A statement by France, Germany, Belgium, Estonia and former council member Poland reiterated EU concerns “about the sharply deteriorating crisis in Venezuela and its destabilizing effects across the region, including its severe humanitarian consequences.” The members said the European Union is the largest donor to Venezuela’s humanitarian crisis, “providing more than half of all funding,” and they called for stepped up efforts to respond to the country’s underfunded humanitarian emergency.