The head of diplomacy of the European Union (EU), Josep Borrel, considered an unjustified “outrage” that Cuba is included in the list of countries that support terrorism, in his first visit to the island to deepen bilateral relations.
Borrell, who was received yesterday by Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana, referred to the efforts that require him to maintain the unity of the European bloc in the UN votes, especially taking into account that it is one of four countries the United States maintains on its list of sponsors of terrorism, along with Syria, Iran and North Korea.
“I have to make an effort to maintain the unity of everyone in the vote in the United Nations against the blockade, which we have achieved so far; and so that everyone understands that including Cuba on the list of countries that support terrorism is a barbarity and has no justification,” Borrell said yesterday in statements collected today by Cubadebate.
He added that during his visit to the island he spoke with the Cuban authorities about “political freedoms”, “human rights” and the “situation created, before, during and after” the anti-government protests of July 11, 2021.
“We cannot ignore the fact that we have differences (…) but the EU has neither the capacity nor the will to impose changes in Cuba, but we do want to have a framework for dialogue that allows us to talk about everything that unites us and differentiates us without taboos or prohibitions,” said the leader of European diplomacy in statements reproduced by the Europa Press news agency.
Díaz-Canel, for his part, celebrated the first visit to Borrell Island, which he considered a historic “milestone” for bilateral relations and the development of the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement signed between both parties in 2017.
“I think it is a moment that marks a milestone in the deepening of relations between Cuba and the EU,” Díaz Canel declared when receiving the head of European diplomacy.
During his visit to Cuba, Borrell was also together with the Cuban Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodríguez, to chair the III Cuba-EU Joint Council.
Borrell’s three-day visit, who arrived on Wednesday night, discussed various issues, including economic relations, with the European bloc interested in the situation of its companies on the island and the emergence of small and medium-sized companies. private companies in Cuba, legal for a year and a half.
In the political sphere, sustainable development projects and the fight against the climate crisis were discussed, as well as the situation of human rights on the communist island.
Source: Ambito
