Brussels, 10/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 10 February, the European Union adopted negotiating directives to conclude a bilateral political dialogue and cooperation agreement with Cuba. “I hope Cuba will take up this offer, and that we can work soon towards a stronger relationship. This is not a policy change from the past. Just as we want to support reform and modernisation in Cuba, we have consistently raised human rights concerns which will remain at the core of this relationship”, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton said in a press release.
Ashton stated that the pace of negotiations with Cuba would depend on the development of the political situation on the ground. On the EU side, no date has been put forward as an objective for signing a first generation bilateral agreement - a way of keeping up pressure on Cuba. By the end of the negotiations, the official EU position with regard to Cuba - based on the common position of December 1996, which subjects full cooperation with the country to improvement of the situation on human rights and political freedoms - will remain in place (see EUROPE 11014). (MB/transl.fl)