S&D MEPs led today in the foreign affairs committee a cross-party coalition to support the first ever deal between the EU and Cuba, in spite of the EPP’s efforts to postpone the vote. The Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement (PDCA) with Cuba which is expected to mark a turning point in the EU-Cuba bilateral relations calls for US embargo to be lifted and for radical improvement of human rights conditions in the country.

The deal comes after the decision of the US president Donald Trump to harden the embargo on Cuba, implement a veto on tourism and withdraw the US ambassador from Havana. The European Parliament will vote on the report at the July plenary session in Strasbourg. If approved, provisional application of the agreement can be launched as soon as possible.
 
S&D Group vice-president and author of the report, Elena Valenciano MEP, said:

“The overwhelming majority with which the European Parliament endorsed today the PDCA show that it is committed to dialogue and convinced that this is the best way to advance relations between the EU and Cuba.

“The PDCA is a very good agreement. I wish that every agreement signed by the EU with third countries was as clear and well-structured as this one. The PDCA is also very demanding on human rights, through a dialogue which has already begun to work.

“This agreement puts an end to 20 years of distance between the EU and Cuba, since the so-called 'common position' had been largely overcome by the reality of bilateral agreements and exchanges maintained by the member states during these years.

“Cuba is a country of great strategic interest to the EU. Europe needed to establish this agreement to complete the map of its relations with Latin America. Cuba is no longer an exception.”
 
S&D Group spokesperson for foreign affairs, Knut Fleckenstein MEP, said:

“It is high time that the EU reinforces its relations with Cuba. This is even more important in the wake of the retrogression announced by the Trump administration. The EU needs to do so both to facilitate reforms and ensure human rights, and to support Cuba in its economic development efforts. Because it is only through co-operation and dialogue that we can build trust and reap the benefits of the rapprochement between the EU and Cuba.

“Likewise, we need to strengthen our relations with the Cuban citizens, especially with those who are fighting for civil rights. The Cuban government needs to understand that this agreement is not a blank check and that it has to take its share of responsibility to align its human rights policy with international standards and ratify the UN conventions on human rights. For us Europeans, human rights are not negotiable and this is why we ensured that the PDCA will be suspended if provisions on human rights are violated.”