Related videos:
The European Parliament will vote this Thursday, June 18, on a resolution regarding "political repression and the humanitarian situation in Cuba" during the plenary session in Strasbourg, as reported by the organization Ciudadanía y Libertad on Instagram.
Until today, the main parliamentary groups continued to negotiate against the clock to reach a consensus on a joint text based on several proposals put forward by the different European political families. The voting is scheduled between 12:00 and 14:00, with a prior debate set for Wednesday the 17th.
The issues that draw the most attention are the situation of the more than 1,200 political prisoners, the humanitarian crisis arising from power outages and the shortage of food and medicine, and the future of the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement (PDCA) signed between the European Union and Cuba.
The proposal from the European People's Party (EPP) suggests that Brussels consider suspending the agreement with Havana if the regime does not take concrete steps toward democratization, does not release political prisoners, and does not respect fundamental rights. It also proposes sanctions against those responsible for repression and executives of the military conglomerate GAESA.
Renew Europe advocates for a similar position and calls for the implementation of individual sanctions under the EU's Magnitsky regime against those responsible for human rights violations on the Island.
In contrast, the text promoted by Socialists and Democrats alongside the Greens maintains the critiques regarding the human rights situation in Cuba, but attributes part of the crisis to the tightening of U.S. sanctions and advocates for strengthening cooperation within the framework of the existing agreement.
The vote follows years of sustained pressure from Cuban civil society on the EU to activate the human rights clause of the ADPC. In January 2026, the EP already approved an amendment with 331 votes in favor to review and suspend the preferential cooperation with Cuba, citing human rights violations and Cuba's support for Russia.
In April 2026, activists such as Carolina Barrero and Amelia Calzadilla traveled to Brussels to demand the suspension of the agreement and individual sanctions. Calzadilla confirmed then that the EU had initiated the review process of the ADPC following the efforts of civil society.
In May 2026, the High Representative of the EU Kaja Kallas confirmed before the plenary that the ADPC was under review, while MEPs such as Gabriel Mato argued that the EU should feel "ashamed" for maintaining the agreement without democratic results.
On June 10, Spanish MEP Hermann Tertsch (VOX/Patriots for Europe) mocked a pro-Cuban regime event organized by the Cuban Embassy in Brussels, describing it as having minimal attendance: "a handful of people and a drum."
The final content of the resolution will depend on the negotiations that political groups are holding before Thursday's vote, marking the culmination of over a decade of pressure from the opposition and Cuban civil society on European institutions.
Filed under: