Prague, July 19 (CTK) – The Czech Senate, the upper house of parliament, approved an EU-Cuba agreement on mutual political dialogue today, which also extends economic and development cooperation and raises the chance of promoting joint positions on the international scene.
Furthermore, the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement (PDCA) is aimed to support modernisation of Cuban economy and society.
The Chamber of Deputies approved it in late June.
Now the agreement needs the president’s signature for its Czech ratification to be complete.
According to a report accompanying the agreement, bilateral ties should be enhanced based on mutual respect, common interests and respecting of each side’s sovereignty.
The report mentions human rights and democracy, the fight against discrimination, sustainable development and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
From 1996, the EU has applied a joint position policy towards Cuba, which ruled out any relations with Havana until it took steps leading to democracy and freedom of expression.
The EU-Cuba relations reached the low in 2003 when Cuba imprisoned 75 critics of the government within a crackdown on dissidents.
At the time, the EU restricted its high-level visits to Cuba, reduced bilateral cultural cooperation and started inviting dissidents to visit EU countries’ embassies in Cuba.
The EU decided to resume negotiations on mutual relations with Cuba in 2014. The relevant agreement was signed in Brussels in December 2016. To take effect, it must be ratified by all EU countries and the European Parliament.
rtj/dr/kva
