The third Cuba-European Union (EU) Joint Council will take place in Havana on May 26, and will be chaired by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, and by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Vice President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell Fontelles.

During the Joint Council, the status of the implementation of the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement (PDCA), which was signed on December 12, 2016 between Cuba and the European Union and its Member States and began to be provisionally implemented on November 1, 2017, will be evaluated.

Since then, the PDCA has been the regulatory framework for relations between the two parties, laying the foundations for the development of stable, mutually beneficial and long-term ties based on principles of mutual respect, reciprocity and equality.

The upcoming Joint Council is preceded by the holding of the Third Joint Committee, held on December 2, 2022, in Havana, a meeting that was chaired by senior diplomatic representatives of Cuba and the European External Action Service.

On that occasion, both delegations exchanged on the ratification process of the PDCA, the results of the third cycle of political and sectoral dialogues, which took place during the period 2021-2022, as well as on cooperation, trade and investment relations and the negative impact that the blockade and the inclusion of Cuba in the spurious US list of countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism have on them.

During his stay in Havana, the EU High Representative will complete an extensive programme that will include meetings with authorities and representatives of various sectors of Cuban society, as well as visits to institutions where the results of cooperation between Cuba and the European Union can be appreciated and its potential identified.

Cuba established diplomatic relations with the European Community on 29 September 1988 and has full diplomatic relations with all 27 EU member states.

(With information from Cubaminrex)