Statement by the International Relations Committee of the National Assembly of People's Power (ANPP)
The International Relations Commission of the National Assembly of People's Power (ANPP) strongly rejects the resolution adopted by the European Parliament on July 12, following the debate held on June 13 in that body, referring to the declarations of the Council and the European Commission, and the status of the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement (PDCA) between the European Union (EU) and Cuba, following the visit to Havana in May by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, on the occasion of the Third Cuba-EU Joint Council.
The ANPP's International Relations Commission emphasises that the European Parliament lacks the moral, political and legal authority to judge Cuba. As has been the case with previous resolutions on Cuba, approved by the current legislature, the text has a highly interfering content, defaming not only the Cuban reality, its legal system and rule of law, but also the links that Cuba maintains with other States in a sovereign manner, in strict accordance with international law. At the same time, it reflects the application of double standards in the issuing of value judgements on issues that this Parliament does not pay attention to in the territory of its own Member States and in other parts of the world. The European Parliament's silence on the resurgence of Fascism could be seen as complicit.
The debate that served as the basis for this resolution showed a strong ideological charge by a group of conservative and extreme right-wing MEPs, some with known links to anti-Cuban politicians in the United States, whose purpose is to hinder the current course of relations between Cuba and the European Union, based on the ADPC signed by the 27 member states.
To achieve their ends, they try to ignore the results of the Third Cuba-EU Joint Council, held on 26 May last, and distort facts, data and figures.They deliberately lie in order to finally question the positive course of relations between Cuba and the European Union, in its various fields, including cooperation.
This debate, in which high-level representatives of other institutions such as the Council and the European Commission made presentations, showed both the validity of the ADPC to advance in the development of mutually beneficial relations, and the ineffectiveness of unilateral and interfering positions that at other times prevented dialogue and cooperation.We are grateful for the position of those MEPs who, sticking to the evidence and historical truth, denounced the fact that attacking the ongoing dialogue and cooperation is a servile tribute by the European ultra-right to the policy of the United States Government against the Cuban people, universally rejected every year in the United Nations General Assembly.
This resolution contributes to the US attempt to isolate Cuba internationally and to justify its genocidal blockade that has inflicted so much damage on the Cuban people for more than 60 years.
It is also an attack on EU companies that invest in Cuba or are interested in doing so, and expresses the desire of the extreme right and related political forces to deprive the European Union of its own independent policy towards Cuba.
We warn that adopting this Resolution, which singles out a Latin American and Caribbean country, goes against the principles of respect, inclusion and cooperation with which the Third CELAC-EU Summit is intended to be organised, to be held in a few days in Brussels, and may cast doubt on the objectives of a European Union that seeks to relaunch its relations with Latin America and the Caribbean.We call on the MEPs to respect the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and Cuba, the commitment of its Member States and the position of other institutions of the European Union such as the Council and the European Commission, as well as to listen to the feelings of broad sectors of European societies that advocate consolidating dialogue and contributing to the development of exchanges and collaboration in the mutual interest.
Havana, 12 July 2023.