The Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodríguez, has lashed out this Friday at the European Parliament for having recently approved a resolution condemning the "systematic repression" of the "regime" in Havana, accusing the European Parliament of aligning itself with the United States to legitimize the energy blockade imposed on the island.
In a message disseminated on social networks, Rodríguez denounced that "Right-wing political forces in the European Parliament prefer to join the mendacious American narrative designed to justify the energy siege, the extreme economic war, and the military threat of the United States Government against the people of Cuba."
According to the head of Cuban diplomacy, the European partners have given in to "interference" and "pressures" from Washington on their companies and citizens, instead of "invoking European sovereignty, jurisdiction, and interests" in the face of such actions.
Rodríguez stressed that "This omission violates EU and national laws and regulations, in particular Council Regulation (EC) No 2271/96 of 22 November 1996, which protects against the effects of the extraterritorial application of legislation adopted by a third country and actions based on or derived from it."
The minister added that he is not "surprised" by the attitude of the European Parliament, to which he reproaches its "silence" and "complicity" in the face of the "Israeli genocide" in the Gaza Strip.
At the same time, he defended that "Cuba will continue to bet on the implementation of the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement with the European Union, a mechanism that allows for addressing issues of common interest and differences, on the basis of equality, reciprocity, and mutual respect."
Details of the resolution approved by the European Parliament
The resolution, supported by 283 votes in favor, 199 against, and 85 abstentions, states that "after five decades of communist rule" and in the context of the current humanitarian crisis, "89% of families live in extreme poverty. "This is not the result of any external embargo, but the direct consequence of the regime's own model and failures," the text adds.
The document further emphasizes that, at the end of May, Cuba "had a record 1,281 political prisoners, including minors" and states: "We denounce brutal and relentless repression as the only mechanism that keeps the regime alive."
Given the absence of tangible progress towards a "short-term democratic transition," MEPs maintain that the EU "should suspend the bilateral political dialogue and cooperation agreement" and consider that "the only way to escape the hardship, poverty, and isolation suffered by the Cuban people is to carry out profound economic and political changes."