The European Parliament approved a historic resolution this Thursday that condemns the systematic repression of the Cuban regime, calls for individual sanctions from the European Union against Miguel Díaz-Canel, and demands the suspension of the bilateral agreement that has linked Brussels to Havana since 2016.
The resolution was adopted in a plenary session with 283 votes in favor, 199 against, and 85 abstentions, marking the most emphatic statement from the European Parliament regarding Cuba in decades.
Cuba, on the brink of a failed state
The approved text leaves no room for ambiguity: after five decades of communist rule, the MEPs state that Cuba is "on the verge of becoming a failed state."
The resolution states that 89% of Cuban families live in extreme poverty and makes it clear that this reality has no external origin: the humanitarian crisis "is not the result of any external embargo, but rather a direct consequence of the model itself and the failures of the regime."
The Parliament also recorded that by the end of May 2026, Cuba had reached a record number of 1,281 political prisoners, including minors, according to data from Prisoners Defenders.
Sanctions against Díaz-Canel and the leaders of GAESA
The resolution calls on the EU Council to impose individual sanctions under the European global human rights regime—the European equivalent of the Magnitsky Act—against those responsible for repression, starting with Díaz-Canel.
Measures are also being requested against the leaders of GAESA, the military conglomerate that controls nearly half of the Cuban economy, including sectors such as tourism, ports, and remittances.
This voting takes place just two weeks after the United States imposed sanctions directly on Díaz-Canel for the first time, adding him to the OFAC SDN list alongside his wife Lis Cuesta and Alejandro Castro Espín, under Executive Order 14404 signed by Donald Trump on May 1, 2026.
Suspension of the EU-Cuba agreement
The MEPs warn that, in the absence of clear steps towards a short-term democratic transition, the EU must suspend the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement signed with Cuba in December 2016.
The agreement includes a human rights clause that allows for its suspension in cases of serious violations, a clause whose activation has been demanded for years by the opposition and Cuban civil society.
In May 2026, the EU High Representative Kaja Kallas had already acknowledged to the plenary that the agreement "has not yielded the expected results" after nearly a decade in effect.
The opposition leader José Daniel Ferrer had described it in May before the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee as "an aspirin for a terrible cancer."
Democratic transition and humanitarian aid
The resolution approved today also demands the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners, an end to torture and mistreatment, and restitution for the victims.
The MEPs insist that "the only way to overcome the hardship, poverty, and isolation suffered by the Cuban people is to implement deep economic and political changes."
The Parliament advocates for a full, democratic, and multiparty transition led by the Cubans themselves, which includes both those who remain on the island and the exiles, and calls on the regime to allow the return without reprisals of those who took "the painful path of exile."
In parallel, it urges the European Commission and the member states to develop humanitarian channels to deliver energy, food, and medicine directly to the population.
Condemnation for support of Russia and Belarus
The resolution also condemned the material support from the Cuban regime for Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine, including the recruitment of Cuban citizens to fight alongside Moscow's forces.
He also criticized the strengthening of military cooperation between the Cuban regime and Russia and Belarus.
Europe raises the tone against the Cuban regime
The Spanish MEP Hermann Tertsch (VOX/Patriots for Europe), one of the main advocates of the resolution, summed it up before the vote with a straightforward statement: “The time for warnings and threats is over. We must act.”
The resolution approved today reflects a hardening of the European Parliament's stance towards the Cuban government and a growing frustration with the results of the ongoing Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement between Brussels and Havana.
Although the resolutions of the European Parliament are not binding for the European Commission or for the Member States, the text increases political pressure for the EU to reassess its relationship with Cuba and adopt more robust measures regarding human rights.
The document also highlights the concern of European legislators regarding the economic and social deterioration of the island, the lack of structural reforms, and the increase in repression against activists, opponents, and citizens who publicly express their discontent with the regime.
Filed under: