Cuba and EU agree to new talks following historic breakthrough with US
BRUSSELS, Belgium, Friday January 16, 2015, CMC – The European Union (EU) says it has agreed with Cuba to meet in early March for a third round of negotiations aimed at normalizing ties.
The agreement comes less than a month after a historic breakthrough between Havana and Washington.
The EU and Cuba, which began normalization talks last year after ties were suspended in 2003, had initially planned to hold a third round in December before they were called off twice.
“Now there is a new date for a round of negotiations on March 4 and 5,” an EU diplomat said. “The EU condition is that Cuba does not ask for restrictions on the subjects discussed, particularly on human rights issues and the role of civil society.”
Two rounds of talks were held last year; but, in December, Cuba suspended a planned third round, “which would have tackled the sensitive rights dossier,” according to EU News.
The EU said the two sides agreed in principle to meet again in early March in the Cuban capital, Havana.
EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini welcomed a breakthrough US-Cuba accord last month to re-establish diplomatic relations after more than 50 years as a “historical turning point.”
Mogherini said, at the same time, that the EU also hoped ultimately to be able to “expand relations with all parts of Cuban society.”
The EU said ties with Cuba were suspended in 2003 when Havana launched a crackdown and jailed 75 dissidents in a direct response to calls for liberalization and greater respect for human rights.
The EU said Cuba is the Americas’ only one-party, communist-ruled state “and is alone in Latin America in not having a political dialogue with the EU.”
The EU said it bases its approach to Cuba on a 1996 “common position” document, which states that “economic cooperation must go hand in hand with advances towards a pluralistic democracy and respect of human rights.”
Read more: http://www.caribbean360.com/business/cuba-eu-agree-new-talks-following-historic-breakthrough-us#ixzz3P0UQT4VD
You may also be interested in:
Stakeholders Engage in Consultations to Strengthen National Youth Policy
The Department of Youth Development and Sports, through its Youth Unit, has commenced a four-day series of half-day closed stakeholder consultations aimed at strengthening the development and...
Regional Workshop Strengthens Caribbean Capacity on Genetic Resources
Regional policymakers, scientists, and biodiversity experts gathered from March 3-5, 2026, at The University of the West Indies (UWI), St.
Statement by Hon. Dr. Joyelle Clarke, Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment, Climate Action and Constituency Empowerment of Saint Kitts and Nevis| High-Level Segment, 16th Meeting of the Conference of Parties of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity| Cali, Colombia| 30 October 2024
"The fight for biodiversity cannot be disentangled from the climate crisis. This is why our commitment to the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework is especially critical and why Saint KittsRelated Stories
CARICOM Secretariat Develops Online Platform for Sustainable Statistical Capacity-Building
The Regional Statistics Programme of the CARICOM Secretariat has established an electronic platform for training, research and knowledge acquisition that is aimed at improving statistical capacity
Statement of the Council of Ministers of CARIFORUM on the Ex-Post Evaluation of the CARIFORUM-EU EPA
The Council of Ministers of CARIFORUM wishes to put on record, the Region’s concerns with a number of ‘findings’ of the Study commissioned by the European Commission, the “Ex-post Evaluation...