The European Union puts the cards on the table in Cuba

First modification: 05/27/2023 – 17:49

The meeting with the president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, was marked by conversations concerning political freedoms, human rights, cooperation, anti-government protests in 2021, Cuba on the list of terrorist countries and the island’s position in the war against Ukraine. .

Although diplomatic relations between the European Union and Cuba have been established since 1988, this visit has “high significance”, and the Cuban president highlighted the historical and cultural ties between his country and Europe as a pillar to facilitate “deepening in the sense perspective” of relationships in different areas.

In fact, Cuba and the EU signed the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement (ADPC) in December 2016, which has been provisionally in force since November 1, 2017 (because the Lithuanian parliament rejected it).

The pact promotes cooperation in favor of sustainable development, democracy and human rights, as well as the possibility of finding shared solutions to global challenges through joint actions in multilateral forums.

“We cannot ignore the fact that we have differences (…) the EU has neither the capacity nor the will to impose changes in Cuba, but we do want to have a dialogue framework that allows us to talk about everything that unites us and difference without taboos or prohibitions”, said the leader of European diplomacy.

Borrell made these statements after concluding the third Cuba-European Union Joint Council in the Cuban capital, accompanied by the island’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Anayansi Rodríguez.

On the anti-government protests

Organizations such as Justicia 11J and Cubalex have denounced that thousands of people were arrested after the demonstrations in July 2021, the biggest protests since the 1959 revolution by former leader Fidel Castro.

Human rights groups, the European Union and the United States have criticized Cuba’s response to these heavy-handed and repressive protests. The Cuban government has said that those jailed were guilty of assault, vandalism and sedition.

Currently, according to figures from NGOs, 700 people have been sanctioned so far, in some cases with up to 30 years in prison.

Therefore, the European diplomat announced that next November the EU special representative for human rights, Eamon Gilmore, will visit the island to follow up on the situation of those detained and sentenced for 9/11.

Ukraine, the difficult subject

On the other hand, the 27-member EU has repeatedly rejected the Cold War-era trade embargo imposed by the United States, and Washington’s inclusion of Cuba on a list of state sponsors of terrorism. Topics that the EU envoy recalled.

However, Cuba’s support for Russia in the war in Ukraine has become another high point in its relationship with Europe, since Cuba, a longtime political ally of Russia, although it has called for a peaceful solution, has said that The United States, and not Russia, is responsible for the war.

This is added to the fact that Russia has strengthened its commercial ties with Cuba since the beginning of the Ukrainian conflict, signing multiple commercial agreements and sending shipments of wheat and oil products to the island in recent months.

Borrell said that Cuba, which this year holds the presidency of the G77 group of developing nations, has a special role in defending international law in Ukraine.

“Ukraine is the victim and Russia is the aggressor,” Borrell said. “We hope to count on Cuba as a defender… of the basic principles of international law,” she said.

With information from Reuters and EFE.