EU Seeking to Upgrade Bloc's Ties With Cuba

EU Seeking to Upgrade Bloc's Ties With Cuba
BRUSSELS February 6, 2014 (AP)
By JUERGEN BAETZ Associated Press

Europe is set to upgrade its ties with Cuba in a bid to broaden economic
cooperation and demand more progress on respecting human rights and
fundamental freedoms, a senior European Union official said Thursday.

The 28-nation bloc's foreign ministers will endorse a mandate to
negotiate a new, broad political agreement with Cuba at their upcoming
meeting Monday, the official said.

The agreement won't include facilitating trade relations or more
development aid for Cuba, but it will mark a crucial step in that
direction by broadening and regularizing the two sides' political
exchanges, he said.

The official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity ahead of
the decision's announcement, declined to detail what progress on human
rights the EU will specifically demand from Cuba, saying it would be
counterproductive to cite specific benchmarks at this point.

He insisted, however, that any progress on reaching the new political
framework will hinge on "developments on the island since the idea is to
accompany the process of reforms, modernization and further
strengthening of fundamental freedoms and human rights."

Should Cuba's progress stall, he suggested, then "the motivation to
engage frequently will be much less. Other priorities will get the upper
hand."

In Havana, Cuban officials did not immediately respond to a request for
comment about the forthcoming EU mandate.

The EU resumed low-level contacts with Cuba in 2008, two years after
Raul Castro became president and started granting Cubans some more
freedom, including lifting some travel restrictions, while also slowly
opening up the state-dominated economy to private businesses.

Washington's relations with Cuba are defined by the 52-year-old trade
embargo, but European nations have long traded with Cuba, and thousands
of sun-seeking Europeans flock to the islands' Caribbean beaches every year.

The EU official said the bloc's move comes in "full understanding with
Washington," noting that the U.S. position on Cuba also is experiencing
some relaxation. The U.S. and the EU are both hoping Cuba will implement
further reforms, "therefore this is not an issue where out paths
diverge," he added.

Cuba has received about 80 million ($110 million) in development aid
from the EU since 2008. While that sum is small, experts say the EU
would certainly be ready to provide more assistance, if the country took
further steps toward democratization and respect for fundamental freedoms.

The EU already is the Caribbean island nation's second most important
trading partner, trailing only Cuba's socialist ally Venezuela, and one
of the biggest sources of foreign direct investment. About one-fifth of
Cuba's imports currently come from Europe, according to EU figures.

———

Follow Juergen Baetz on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/jbaetz

———

AP writer Andrea Rodriguez in Havana contributed reporting.

Source: EU Seeking to Upgrade Bloc's Ties With Cuba - ABC News -
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/eu-seeking-upgrade-blocs-ties-cuba-22389457