Commission to open office in Cuba

Date: 06/03/03

By David Cronin

RELATIONS between the EU and Cuba are due to be upgraded next week when the European Commission formally opens a delegation office in Havana.

The inauguration ceremony will be conducted by Poul Nielson, the European development commissioner, during a four-day visit to the Caribbean island (10-14 March).

The office is being run by the Commission's chargé d'affaires to Cuba, German official Sven Kuhn von Burgsdorff.

However, it will not have the status of an embassy and will instead be answerable to the Commission's representation in the Dominican Republic.

Nielson is also due to meet Felipe Pérez Roque, the country's foreign minister, to discuss the possibility of Cuba signing up to the full provisions of the Cotonou accord.

This puts EU relations with 77 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries on a formal footing and covers topics that range from assistance with development to respect for democratic principles.

Fidel Castro's government applied to sign Cotonou in January. Although the Commission is expected to give an upbeat assessment of its bid, the UK and the Netherlands harbour reservations about endorsing it, without democratic reforms in the communist state.

"Economically and socially Cuba is similar to other countries in the region," remarked one EU official.

"But some member states have particularly strong concerns about Cuba's human rights record." These include detention of political prisoners and lack of respect for freedom of expression.

The official added that the opening of the new office is particularly significant as the European Parliament has sought to limit the number of overseas delegations which the Commission has.

Along with government representatives, Nielson is due to hold talks with leading dissident Oswaldo Paya.

Commission spokesman Michael Curtis said the Castro administration had raised no objections to the planned meeting with Paya, winner of the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize 2002 for his campaign calling for a referendum on democracy in Cuba.

Relations between Europe and Cuba have been a subject of transatlantic strains recently. Donald Rumsfeld, the US defense secretary, has vented his frustration with Germany's anti-war stance by comparing its policy towards Iraq with that of Cuba and Libya.

The remark has been denounced by Spain's premier José María Aznar, normally a staunch US ally.

The Commission estimates some 16% of Cuba's 11 million inhabitants benefited from the €125 million in EU aid given to the country in 1993-2001.

Most of this was of a humanitarian nature but the Commission has decided in more recent years to concentrate on longer-term projects, particularly involving health, education and agriculture.

Relations between the EU and Cuba are due to be upgraded when the European Commission formally opens a delegation office in Havana. The inauguration ceremony will be conducted by Development Commissioner Poul Nielson during a four-day visit to the Caribbean island, 10-14 March 2003.