Cuba Says EU Common Position on Cuba is Obsolete

HAVANA, Cuba. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez described as obsolete the so-called Common Position on Cuba maintained by the European Union (EU) since 1996, specifically on the human rights issue.

Following a meeting with the EU Foreign Affairs Troika in Brussels, Bruno Rodriguez said the position is “one of the hurdles” in the way to the normalization of relations with Havana.

That position is obsolete, the Cuban Foreign Minister told reporters and he noted that the measure was imposed by a US administration no longer in power.

Addressing the same issue during a bilateral meeting with the Cuban Foreign Minister, the European Commissioner for Development Louis Michel said that the measure will be eliminated or modified, reports say.

In June 2008, Cuba and the EU resumed communication, which was cut off when the European block aligned with the US policy in retaliation for Cuba´s response against members of counterrevolutionary groups operating in Cuba at the service of Washington.

The EU has announced an evaluation of the situation in respect to Cuba next June 15 in relation to the human rights issue; international analysts do not discard that foreign ministers from all 27 European nations withdraw or modify the so-called Common Position on that occasion.

After admitting the prevalence of differences with his Cuban counterpart, Scheck Foreign Minister Jan Kohout, whose country is chairing the EU this semester, described as “open” his dialog with the Bruno Rodriguez.

(Califica Cuba de obsoleta Posición Común de UE sobre la Isla)