The III Summit of Heads of State and Government CELAC - European Union will be held in Brussels, Belgium, on 17 and 18 July.
The leaders of both regions will meet again after eight years of not doing so, in a very complicated international context.
The reality is that, beyond speeches and declarations, no progress has been made in bi-regional ties and, in the last period, they have even regressed.
The Summit could be an opportunity to begin to change this scenario. But there are reasons for concern.
The lack of transparency and manipulative behaviour of the European Union in the preparation of the Summit seriously jeopardise the success of the meeting.
Attempts are being made to impose restrictive, divisive formats that make direct and transparent discussions impossible, and to conceal the content of the debates from the press and public opinion.
Forums are organised unilaterally in parallel to the Summit. The European side even decides on its own who will represent our region at these events.
Such behaviour, besides being disrespectful, creates the conditions for these Forums to become scenarios for attacks and singling out CELAC member countries.
The conduct of the European Union jeopardises the possibility of reaching final agreements at the Summit.
Our region has changed. CELAC is the solid and united voice of Latin America and the Caribbean and must be respected.
You will not have any chance of reaching an agreement in the Summit.
Those who try to impose a biased, Europeanist vision on the bi-regional relationship, pretending to ignore the priorities and interests of our region, will have no chance of success in Brussels.
Time is short, but it is not too late to avoid failure.
The Summit can and should be a space for serious, participatory and plural dialogue, which identifies solutions to collectively face, despite our differences, the multiple global challenges that affect us.
We aspire to a Summit that allows us to expand inclusive and mutually advantageous cooperation in high priority areas, such as financing for development, tackling climate change, food security, and renewable energies, among others.
We aspire to a meeting that reaffirms strict respect for the United Nations Charter, international law and the postulates of the "Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace".
Cuba will go to the Brussels Summit in a constructive spirit and will contribute as much as possible to strengthen, on the basis of equality and mutual respect, dialogue and cooperation between CELAC and the European Union, for the benefit of our peoples, both regions and the world.
(Cubaminrex)