The European Union took advantage of the debate convened by Cuba at the United Nations General Assembly on the U.S. embargo this Tuesday to deliver an unusually stern message to the regime of Miguel Díaz-Canel: in addition to calling for an end to Washington's sanctions, it demanded that Havana cease its support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine and undertake political and economic reforms to address the crisis the island is experiencing.
The statement was delivered by Stavros Lambrinidis, head of the EU delegation to the UN, on behalf of the 27 member states and several associated countries, including Montenegro, Albania, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Norway, Andorra, San Marino, and the United Kingdom.
"While we reaffirm the importance of respecting international law in all contexts, we deeply regret that Cuba's stance on Russia's illegal act of aggression against Ukraine has not been consistent with the principles of the United Nations Charter," stated the diplomat.
Criticism for the support of Moscow
Lambrinidis recalled that Cuba voted on February 24, 2026, against a UN resolution calling for a ceasefire and a lasting peace in Ukraine, aligning itself with Russia, Iran, Belarus, and Nicaragua.
The European Union also urged the Havana regime to "refrain from providing any type of support to Russian aggression" and to prevent Cuban citizens from continuing to join the Russian military forces.
According to various estimates cited by Western governments and human rights organizations, between 1,000 and 20,000 Cubans have fought or are fighting on the Russian side, with at least 54 identified fatalities.
"The crisis is not only due to the embargo."
Although the EU reiterated its traditional rejection of the U.S. embargo and warned that the sanctions, especially the extraterritorial provisions of the Helms-Burton Act, result in humanitarian consequences and impact European economic interests, it made it clear that this is not the only cause of the deterioration being experienced in Cuba.
"The serious situation of the Cuban people is not solely due to the embargo. Significant political and economic reforms from the Cuban authorities are urgently needed," emphasized Lambrinidis.
The European representative described an island plagued by daily blackouts, shortages of food and medicine, hospitals on the verge of collapse, and difficulties accessing transportation and fuel.
"Humanitarian aid alone will not resolve the crisis in Cuba. Important sovereign decisions can no longer be postponed," he stated.
Human rights and political prisoners
The statement also called for concrete progress in the area of human rights.
The European Union called for the release of all political prisoners, respect for fundamental freedoms, and greater openness to dialogue with civil society.
The statement comes weeks after the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, acknowledged that the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement with Cuba has not produced the expected results after nearly a decade of implementation.
That shift was also reflected on June 18, when the European Parliament approved a resolution calling for individual sanctions against Miguel Díaz-Canel under the European sanctions regime for human rights violations and proposes to suspend the cooperation agreement with Havana.
The European intervention on Tuesday took place during the extraordinary session requested by the Cuban regime itself to discuss the U.S. embargo, an exceptional mechanism used for the first time by Havana.
The General Assembly approved the celebration of the debate with 136 votes in favor, nine against, and 30 abstentions, a support significantly lower than the 165 votes received by Cuba in the annual vote held in October 2025.
Filed under: