Brussels, 20/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - In February, the Europeans could decide to start formal talks with Cuba with a view to signing a cooperation agreement by 2015.
The signs of openness shown by the regime of Raul Castro, particularly in recent months, appear to have convinced the EU of the need to revise the nature of its relationship with the Caribbean island, the Spanish daily newspaper El Pais reported last week. The Europeans are believed to be inclined, possibly at the February Foreign Affairs Council, to move on in the “common position”, the Community diplomatic instrument set in place regarding Cuba in 1996 banning any official dialogue with any country or organisation whose actions run counter to human rights and individual freedoms.
The countries which are least in favour of this step, traditionally the countries of the former Soviet bloc such as Poland and the Czech Republic, are reported to be inclined to put aside their reluctance as long as any forthcoming talks with the Castro regime are accompanied by a detailed assessment of the changing human rights situation on the island.
In late 2013, at the funeral of the former South African President Nelson Mandela, the historic handshake between the American president Barack Obama and the Cuban leader Raul Castro made global news. (MB/transl.fl)