On Tuesday 15 May, Europeans and Cubans did not hide their differences of opinion on the Venezuelan presidential elections that will take place on Sunday 20 May.
Europeans do not believe the rules on which the elections are based respect international democratic standards, whilst Cubans see real grounds for hope in these upcoming elections.
"We have called and we continue to call for a process that could be credible, with the participation of all political forces, transparent and with a calendar that would allow for this. This does not seem to be the case at the moment", High Representative for the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini stated at the end of the first EU-Cuba Association Council. Indeed, the signals currently coming from Venezuela are not in the slightest bit encouraging, she deplored.
Cuba's Foreign Affairs Minister Bruno Eduardo Rodríguez Parrilla admitted that the Venezuelan issue was "a subject on which differences in viewpoint prevail". "For Cuba, Venezuela is a sovereign state with a government that is legitimately elected", he added. Describing the holding of the presidential elections as "grounds for hope", he said it was up "to the Venezuelans, and to them alone, to decide on their internal affairs". And he underlined the Cuban opposition to the "unilateral sanctions" taken by some countries without the support of the United Nations.
The two leaders advocated dialogue between the parties in order to resolve the political crisis. Mogherini is personally convinced that Cuba can play "a positive role" of mediation, as it did for the peace agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC.
During the EU-Cuba Association Council the two parties signed a cooperation agreement for €18 million to help Havana generate 24% of its electricity with renewable resources. Another cooperation agreement, worth €21 million, is also being prepared on food security.
The annual meeting of European, Latin American and Caribbean foreign affairs ministers will take place in Brussels in mid-July. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)