The President of the Euro-Latin America Assembly, MEP Jose Ignacio Salafranca of Spain, and MEP Jose Ribeiro e Castro of Portugal pointed out that if the Cuban authorities wanted to make the first step for change, they should allow the EP Sakharov Prize Winners Oswaldo Paya (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.
Life after Fidel hasn’t swayed many in the EU
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. That was the main conclusion of a two-day conference organised in Brussels by the Konrad Adenauer and Robert Schuman Foundations, led by the European People’s Party 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 in the Fidel Castro regime and that now led by his brother, Raul 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,” said Oreja, who said the recent announcements by Raul 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, MEP Jose Ignacio Salafranca of Spain, and MEP Jose Ribeiro e Castro of Portugal pointed out that if the Cuban authorities wanted to make the first step for change, they should allow the EP Sakharov Prize Winners Oswaldo Paya (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.