Brussels, 07/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 10 February, the Foreign Affairs Council will officially grant a mandate to the European Commission to negotiate an agreement stimulating political dialogue and cooperation with Cuba.
This move does not constitute “a change of direction in our relations” but aims “to create a stronger framework” for continuing relations with Cuba, said a high-level European official on Thursday 6 February. The objective is also to “support” and “accompany the change” which is under way in Cuba - especially as regards “respect for fundamental freedoms”, the official added, without wanting to give details on the timetable for the negotiations. “We are not in a hurry but these negotiations do not look complicated”, the official added, believing that the pace of the discussions will depend on “developments” on the ground.
By the end of the negotiations, the official EU position towards Cuba - based on the common position of December 1996 which subjects full cooperation with Cuba to improvement in its human rights and political freedoms situation - will remain in place. For the moment, the common position “is still there” and can only be overridden “by unanimity”, the diplomat stated. This was a way of reassuring Central European countries, which are reluctant about the idea of EU-Cuba relations developing. The Commission's mandate will “amply reflect the concerns of certain countries”, added the official. The EU will not introduce any “new mechanism” in its negotiation guidelines, nor will it introduce any “benchmarks” that would enable Cuba's respect for human rights to be followed in detail - as the Commission delegation in Havana already monitors this. “Democratic reforms can't be bought”, the official said, refusing to identify the reforms to which the EU reportedly aspires.
Cooperation between the EU and Cuba was resumed in October 2008. Since then, the Commission has committed nearly €60 million for projects linked to the reconstruction of infrastructure after the hurricanes, and for projects linked to food security, climate change, culture and education. With a first generation framework agreement, this cooperation will be formalised and continued, and will also enable the number of official interlocutors with the EU to be increased - interlocutors who are not necessarily affiliated to the Castro regime. (MB/transl.fl)