EU should not change policy on Cuba until political changes become reality. Jaime Mayor Oreja MEP and José Ribeiro e Castro MEP

The European Union should not change its policy towards Cuba until political changes in Havana become reality and any 'critical' dialogue with Cuban authorities are extended to the representatives of democratic movements.

This was the main conclusion of the two-day conference organised in Brussels by the Konrad Adenauer and Robert Schuman Foundations and chaired by EPP-ED Vice-Chairman, Jaime Mayor Oreja, with the participation of representatives of movements working for democracy inside and outside Cuba, the US Department of State, Christian Democrat politicians from several Latin America countries and organisations, MEPs, experts from the European Commission and the Co-President of the Centrist Democrat International, former Mexican President, Vicente Fox.

The aim of the meeting was to discuss the different points of views of the two sides of the Atlantic on the perspectives in Cuba after the Fidel and Raúl Castro regime; to analyse what the democratic alternatives are for the country, what could be the role of the different opposition movements, as well as the different economic development scenarios, and the role of associated countries.

"If there is a transition or a change it should be with the support of the Cuban people", stated Jaime Mayor Oreja, who considered that the recent announcements by Raúl Castro to allow Cubans to buy laptops or rent hotel rooms are only cosmetic and cannot be considered as a real will to achieve democratic freedom in the country. The President of the Euro-Latin America Assembly, José Ignacio Salafranca MEP, and José Ribeiro e Castro MEP pointed out that if the Cuban authorities wanted to make the first step for change, they should allow the EP Sakharov Prize Winners Oswaldo Payá (2002) and the 'Ladies in White' (2005) to come to Brussels to explain what is happening in the country. "If they are not authorised to come, from an EU point of view, it will mean that nothing has changed", Ribeiro e Castro said.

During his speech at the conference, the Co-President of the Centrist Democrat International, former Mexican President, Vicente Fox, called on the EU to keep in mind the "democratic clause" in any relation to the Cuban authorities "as it was this clause that helped Mexico to change its political system", and he also appealed to the Cuban authorities "to avoid cosmetic changes" and "to facilitate the process of change" as "any action to retain freedom will be against the Cuban people."

In the view of all the different speakers at the conference, there is nothing happening now in Cuba that allows the EU to think that democracy will be achieved. "Political prisoners are still in prison, there is no freedom of speech, no freedom of association, notihing that makes us think that a democratic state will emerge", explained the Co-Chairman of the CDU/CSU in the German Bundestag, Arnold Vaatz MP. Not enough reasons then, for the European Parliament to support any change in the EU policy towards Cuba next June, when the EU Foreign Affairs Ministers will discuss the subject.

For further information:
Pedro López de Pablo, EPP-ED Press Service, Tel: +32-2-2842786, +32-475-493352

Notes to Editors:
The EPP-ED Group is the largest political group in the European Parliament with 288 Members from all 27 Member States.