Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-06-21-Speech-4-167"
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"en.20070621.26.4-167"2
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".
Madam President, we have good reason to follow closely the recent developments in Cuba, because after 47 years of ruling Cuba Fidel Castro transferred power to his brother, Raúl, who has been running the island in a relatively calm and organised fashion. It is too early to say whether Fidel will fully recuperate from his illness, but nearly all observers agree that he will never be able to assume day-to-day management again.
Cuba, for the first time since the revolution of 1959, has to face the prospect of a country no longer fully run by Fidel Castro. This is definitely a new situation, which we must take into account. The question is: how can, and how should, the European Union react to this new development?
The Council of the European Union gave its first answer three days ago. In its conclusions on Cuba of 18 June, the EU renewed its offer of an open and comprehensive dialogue with the Cuban authorities and invited a Cuban delegation to Brussels to sound out the feasibility of such an exercise. This open-door approach is consistent with the EU’s overall policy of constructive engagement towards Cuba.
Since 1996, when the European Union adopted its position on Cuba, experience has proved that only a policy of engagement and cooperation, not one of sanctions, has the potential to promote peaceful change in Cuba towards democracy, respect for human rights, the rule of law, sustainable economic recovery and improvement in the living conditions of the Cuban people, as stipulated in the EU’s common position of 1996.
Only the establishment of an open, comprehensive and result-orientated dialogue with the Cuban authorities will enable us to make the best use of the variety of instruments the EU and its Member States have at their disposal to further cooperation in the fields of political relations, human rights, investment and trade, development work, scientific research, educational exchanges and culture.
The European Union is a profoundly value-based entity that makes respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms a key policy priority in its external actions. It is deeply convinced that this commitment towards open dialogue must also involve wider Cuban civil society. Extending a hand to the Cuban Government to enter into a long-term partnership with the European Union only makes sense if, at the same time, the European Union does all it can to maintain and step up its dialogue with those involved in Cuban civil society, including human rights defenders and peaceful political activists.
As long as Cuba denies its citizens internationally-recognised basic civil political and economic rights, the European Union will not stop lobbying for democracy and respect for the rule of law and fundamental freedoms. It should not stop expressing its full solidarity with and support to those peacefully committed to making these universal values a reality in Cuba. This is the true meaning of the ‘two-track approach’: saying ‘yes’ to extending a hand to the Cuban authorities for dialogue and cooperation while explicitly expressing critical remarks and concerns, and ‘yes’ to defending the right of Cuban citizens to decide freely about their future.
It is the Commission’s firm conviction that the Council conclusions of 18 June are a welcome and necessary first step in this direction."@en1
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