Brussels, 28/08/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 27 and Thursday 28 August, the EU and Cuba held a second session of negotiations - in Brussels - which focused on the cooperation section of the association and cooperation agreement that they hope to conclude.
On behalf of the European Commission, Christian Leffler commended the Cuban authorities' excellent preparation and constructive attitude at the negotiations. We have achieved “fairly substantial progress on bringing our positions closer together” and we now have a relatively clear vision of “the overall structure” that the cooperation section of the association agreement will have, Leffler stated.
The negotiations addressed a full range of cooperation subjects - respect for fundamental rights, the rule of law, the fight against corruption, education and social development, public health, the fight against climate change, support for small and medium-sized enterprises, energy and transport.
In Leffler's view, the Cuban side recognises the concerns of the EU, while Europeans recognise the specificity of the cooperation that they have to set up with Cuba. Cuba is indeed very advanced in sectors such as education and social protection, but also faces numerous economic “challenges” linked to its “state control of the economy”, Leffler said.
The European Union has given a mandate to the European Commission to negotiate an association and cooperation agreement with Cuba (see EUROPE 11015). The first session of negotiations - in Havana - in April focused on the political issues of the future agreement. Issues linked to trade and economic relations are expected to be among the subjects discussed at a third session of negotiations - very probably in Cuba in December - although the agenda for this round has not yet been finalised. On Thursday, Commission staff responsible for trade simply made a presentation of the European priorities in this domain.
The European side refuses to set a time limit for concluding negotiations with the Cuban authorities. Much work remains to be done on the three sections of the agreement (political, cooperation, trade), says Leffler, who believes that is it “better to have a good agreement than a hastily-concluded agreement”.
By the end of the negotiations, the EU official position on Cuba will remain in place - based on the December 1996 joint position that makes full cooperation with Cuba conditional upon improvement of the country's situation as regards human rights and political freedoms (see EUROPE 11014). (MB)