Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-06-21-Speech-4-158"

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". Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, for once I do not agree with Mr Romeva i Rueda, because I believe that there is an urgent issue concerning Cuba, and one that actually concerns us as well as the European Union. Otherwise, it would be pointless to treat questions of countries that have been dictatorships and not democratic for years and years, or even decades, as urgent topics. In this case the urgency concerns us and our policy. A decision has been taken in the Council to invite a Cuban delegation. What can or what should initiating this dialogue mean? In our view, it should mean that any change, reform or strengthening of relations with Cuba must depend on an equally tangible plan to reform the situation of human rights and democracy on the island. It is true that our strategy as the European Union is not to impose an embargo – and I intend to clarify and emphasise that again in an oral amendment – but it is also true that it must not and cannot be a strategy of unconditional and unilateral openness, because that too would prove to be a disastrous strategy, as it has proved to be in the past. We must, for instance, give practical support to those dissidents who have come together behind the ‘Unity for Liberty’ declaration – and this is much more urgent for the European Union than for Cuba. One of the problems of Cuba’s dissidents and opposition has always been their internal divisions, but this time there is a joint declaration and document that talks about non-violence and democracy. It is our job to support these dissidents. This has to be taken into account when the discussions and dialogue are initiated, otherwise they will be going against this Union’s policies and principles on human rights and democracy."@en1

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