The European Parliament has voted to recognise Venezuela's interim president Juan Guaido, and urged the European Union to follow suit.

It does not change EU policy, but adds to calls for the EU executive and its member states to join the United States, Canada and Brazil in backing Guaido.

Four major European member states have told President Nicolas Maduro to call those elections by the weekend or they will recognise the opposition-backed parliamentary speaker.

The motion urges Brussels accept Mr Guaido as "legitimate interim president of the country until new free, transparent and credible presidential elections can be called in order to restore democracy."

The text was proposed jointly by the major political groups in the parliament, and backed by a 439 deputies against 104 "no" votes and 88 abstentions.

The vote also came as EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini demanded that Venezuelan authorities loyal to Mr Maduro release detained foreign journalists.

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said the Government wants to see "free and fair democratic elections" in Venezuela, that are monitored by the international community "so that the people themselves can decide the kind of future they want".

He was responding to questions in the Dáil from PBP/Solidarity TD Paul Murphy who urged the Government to condemn what he described as a "coup attempt" to oust Mr Maduro.

"It is a coup which is clearly made in the USA. It is a coup directed by Donald Trump," he said.

"If the coup is successful it will be a disaster for working class people in Venezuela. It will be another hard right regime."

M Coveney responded: "If ever there was proof that the kind of ideology that you talk about as delivering for working people, if ever there is an example of that not working it is in Venezuela.