Related videos:
The European Parliament approved an amendment to the annual foreign policy report on Wednesday, proposing to review and suspend the European Union's privileged cooperation with the Cuban regime under the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement (ADPC).
Amendment 82, presented by MEPs Mariusz Kamiński and Carlo Fidanza on behalf of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR), received 331 votes in favor, 241 against, and 63 abstentions, according to the official results of the plenary session held in Strasbourg.
The ECR Group defended the initiative and warned that dictatorships like that of Cuba should no longer benefit from a preferential relationship with the European Union.
The approved text expresses the Parliament's "deep concern" about the authoritarian regimes of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, and urges the European Commission to "use all available instruments, without excluding any," to ensure compliance with democratic norms and human rights.
The amendment warns that Cuba has provided political and financial support to Moscow and Minsk, and that its collaboration with Russia includes the establishment of a "cyber operations center" on Russian territory.
The MEPs also point out that, despite this alignment, the Havana regime continues to receive "privileged cooperation" from the European Union through the ADPC.
In a message posted on X, Mariusz Kamiński stated that the Cuban communist regime "not only brutally represses its people and promotes instability in Latin America, but is also a close ally of Moscow and Minsk."
The MEP recalled that “hundreds of Cuban mercenaries support Russia in its aggression against Ukraine,” and mentioned that the authorities in Lithuania recently accused four Cuban citizens of participating in acts of sabotage.
Kamiński stated that the list of hostile actions by the Havana regime "is long" and denounced that, in the meantime, "the EU continues to fund the regime with millions of euros."
His amendment, he stated, aims to "block the PDCA cooperation agreement to prevent enemy regimes from continuing to benefit from a privileged relationship with Europe."
The vote reinforces the growing consensus within the European Parliament in favor of reviewing the approach to Cuba and conditioning any cooperation on real progress in human rights and political freedoms on the island.
Last Thursday, European parliamentarians from the ECR, along with the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance (ARC), denounced during a hearing in Brussels the presence of regime military from Havana in Ukraine and demanded the immediate cessation of European Union funding to the Cuban dictatorship.
Similarly, in July, more than 25 MEPs denounce the use of European funds in the repressive structures of the Cuban regime and call on Brussels for sanctions, audits, and the activation of clauses for human rights violations.
However, in May, Kaja Kallas, Vice President of the European Commission, defended the EU-Cuba agreement, highlighting that it facilitates dialogue on sensitive issues such as political prisoners.
Filed under: