EU-CUBA DIALOGUE FOCUSED ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 001661

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA BISA WILLIAMS, KAREN RAM, EUR/ERA BILL LUCAS,
ELIZABETH KONICK

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/28/2018
TAGS: PHUM CU ENRG ETRD EINV KDEM EUN XL EAID
SUBJECT: EU-CUBA DIALOGUE FOCUSED ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND
DEVELOPMENT

REF: A. USEU BRUSSELS 1540

B. USEU BRUSSELS 1589

Classified By: Ambassador Kristen Silverberg for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d
).


1. (C) Summary: EU officials spoke positively about the
renewal of the EU-Cuba dialogue at foreign minister level on
October 16 and the re-launching of development cooperation on
October 24. On October 16, FMs Kouchner, Schwartzenberg, and
Commissioner Michel discussed the human rights situation with
Cuban FM Perez Roque, who accepted a list of political
prisoners in ill health from Kouchner. Perez Roque continued
to deny that the GOC holds "political" prisoners, however,
and made no promises about their release. European
Commissioner Louis Michel subsequently traveled to Cuba and
announced 2 million euros in disaster relief aid and up to 25
million euros in longer-term aid. Michel was not scheduled
to talk to the political opposition, despite the Council
conclusions in June mandating that high-level visitors would
meet the democratic opposition "when appropriate." However,
the Commission assured us he would discuss human rights
during his visit. During the October 16 meeting, Perez Roque
reportedly asked the EU to consider withdrawing its 1996
Common Position on Cuba in favor of an agreement signed by
both sides. Economic interests are driving the EU's policy
changes toward Cuba. End Summary.


2. (C) EU interlocutors were generally pleased with the
EU-Cuba foreign ministers meeting that took place on October
16 in Paris (REF B). Valerie Liang-Champrenault, counselor
for Latin America in the French Permanent Representation,
told PolOff on October 23 that France saw the meeting as
"rather positive" and a good start to the renewed EU-Cuba
dialogue. Paris was particularly satisfied with the
discussion of human rights. During the meeting, French
Kouchner presented Cuban FM Perez Roque with a list of
political prisoners in ill health, and while Perez Roque did
not promise to release these prisoners, he at least took the
list with him. Nicolas Pascual de la Parte, Head of Task
Force UN/Latin America at the EU Council Secretariat, who
attended the meeting on behalf of SG/HR Solana, confirmed
that human rights were part of the discussion. He said,
however, that Perez Roque denied that the GOC holds
"political" prisoners, claiming that all prisoners were
criminals. Taking a typical Cuban line, Perez Roque also
insisted that the GOC must be particularly careful about its
security, given the desire of "other powers" to undermine the
regime. According to Pascual de la Parte, Czech FM
Schwartzenberg said the EU-Cuba dialogue would continue under
the Czech EU Presidency, but did not make specific promises
about the frequency or level of the talks.


3. (SBU) Following the meeting in Paris, Commissioner Louis
Michel traveled to Cuba to re-launch EU-Cuba development
cooperation. On October 24, Michel announced 2 million euros
in immediate disaster relief and 20 to 25 million euros in
longer-term aid in areas like the environment, science and
technology, trade, cultural exchanges, and disaster
preparedness. Neither Michel's announcement nor the joint
declaration that he and Perez Roque signed mentioned human
rights issues. Isabelle Martinho, Cuba desk officer in the
Commission's Development DG, told PolOff that the estimate of
20 to 25 million euros was only a "rough estimate" and that a
technical team would travel to the island in November to
assess specific projects. She also said that the Commission
hopes to explore "triangular cooperation" with Cuba in third
countries, but that the idea is only in the exploratory
stage. Such cooperation could include initiatives like using
Commission funding for GOC outreach to other Caribbean states
on issues like disaster preparedness.


4. (SBU) Martinho said that Michel was not planning to meet
with democratic opposition figures, despite the Council
conclusions in June supporting contact with the opposition
and mandating that high-level EU visitors to Cuba meet with
the political opposition "when appropriate." The Commission
said that it did not see the value in potentially
antagonizing the GOC by reaching out to the opposition. The
Commission takes seriously the EU's Common Position mandating
contact with both the GOC and the democratic opposition, she
said, but not every Commission visit to Cuba would
necessarily involve meetings with both sides. On the other

BRUSSELS 00001661 002 OF 002


hand, Martinho assured PolOff that Michel would discuss human
rights with the Cuban regime, as he "always does."


5. (C) Both Pascual de la Parte and Liang-Champrenault said
that during the October 16 meeting, Perez Roque asked the EU
to withdraw its 1996 Common Position on Cuba -- which the GOC
considers a unilateral declaration -- in favor of an
agreement signed by both parties. Liang-Champrenault said
the EU did not agree to this demand. Pascual de la Parte
confirmed this, but speculated that it could happen over
time.


6. (C) Speaking personally and frankly, Pascual de la Parte
(please protect) said the pressure on EU Member States to
continue the political dialogue with Cuba was less political
than commercial. He said European firms are anxious to get
into the nickel and potential offshore oil markets in Cuba
and want to leverage the EU's political dialogue to get the
GOC to open the door to European investment.


7. (C) Comment: No matter the source of the pressure on the
EU, the EU-Cuba dialogue will be hard to stop, absent a
serious degradation in Cuba's human rights situation. If
this dialogue continues, it will be critical to insist that
the EU emphasize human rights and democratic freedoms and
continue its outreach to the democratic opposition and civil
society. Reconsidering the Common Position would show that
the EU has other priorities over human rights. While we do
not anticipate that the EU will withdraw the Common Position
in the short term, the issue could enter the agenda,
especially if the GOC moderates its behavior in the coming
year. End Comment.
SILVERBERG
.