“The Cuban regime has shown not the slightest willingness to change, which makes it clear that the European Union’s Cuba policy, in place since 2016, needs to be reviewed.
Estonia has already stepped up its pressure on Cuba by changing its previous voting behaviour at the UN at the end of last year and not supporting the resolution calling for an end to the trade embargo on Cuba. Several other EU member states did the same for the first time. In its messaging towards Cuba, Estonia has also consistently raised the call not to support Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
The Cuban regime directly and openly supports the war narrative of the aggressor state Russia and has in recent years increased cooperation with both Russia and Belarus, including by concluding defence cooperation agreements with both.
Estonia, as a newly elected member of the UN Human Rights Council, and the European Union more broadly, must not ignore the Cuban regime’s ongoing and worsening human rights violations. The most striking examples include the imprisonment of participants in the peaceful protests of 2021 and restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly.
The EU’s current Cuba policy needs to be changed, and stronger pressure must be exerted on the Cuban regime. I intend to raise this issue at the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels at the end of January.
In the meantime, the e-Governance Academy could review its activities, as it is not necessarily to participate in all projects.”
Additional information:
Communication Department
[email protected]
www.vm.ee | @MFAestonia