EU moves to tighten cooperation with Cuba
Parrilla - Mogherini - 2 - Photo EU Council
(BRUSSELS) - The EU-Cuba Joint Council met for the first time Tuesday, discussing implementation of the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement which has been provisionally applied since November 2017.
"Today we celebrate an important step in relations between the EU and Cuba," said the EU's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini,: "We meet to turn the page and give a new impetus to our joint work in the context of the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement. We want to construct a closer relationship based on open and frank dialogue and mutual respect and effective cooperation."
The Joint Council held a political dialogue and exchanged views on future cooperation in key areas. The EU and Cuba agreed to start working towards the initiating of five new dialogues in key areas:
- countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,
- control of conventional arms,
- coping with unilateral coercive measures,
- the implementation of Agenda 2030 for sustainable development and
- human rights.
The meeting provided an opportunity for exchanges on bilateral issues, as well as avenues for closer cooperation in fields such as energy and agriculture. Cuba's efforts to reform its economy were also discussed, as well as trade and investment between the EU and Cuba.
In addition,Ms Mogherini and Cuba's foreign affairs minister Bruno Eduardo Rodríguez Parrilla touched upon regional and global issues, including the current crisis in Venezuela and EU-CELAC relations.
In the margins of the meeting, the EU and Cuba signed a financing agreement for a cooperation programme on renewable energy, to which the European Commission will contribute € 18 million.
This programme is aimed at contributing to Cuba's energy sector with a specific attention to renewable energies and energy efficiency targets. This is the first ever financing agreement signed between the EU and the Cuban government.