Cuba welcomes EU decision to end "common position," finalize bilateral accord

Cuba on Tuesday welcomed a decision by the European Union (EU) to end its so-called "common position" on the island country, which paves the way for the signing of a political and economic cooperation agreement between Havana and the EU.

Deputy Foreign Minister Abelardo Moreno issued a statement, which said that Cuba "welcomes with satisfaction the decisions adopted by the European Union's Economic and Financial Affairs Council."

The European Commission has adopted proposals on the signing of the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement (PDCA) with Cuba, and repealing the EU's 1996 Common Position on Cuba. It is expected that the signing of the PDCA will be held on Dec. 12 in Brussels.

In recent years, the "common position" has lost credibility among European countries, many of which have individual trade agreements with Cuba, but the policy has not been officially revoked by the EU community.

"For Cuba it was imperative that such a remnant of the past be completely abolished, because it ran counter to the foundations of equality, reciprocity and respect on which it has developed its relationship with the European Union since 2008," Moreno said.

The signing of the agreement marks another achievement for Havana's foreign policy, following the restoration of diplomatic ties with the United States and the renegotiation of its debt with creditors of the Paris-based club of 34 wealthy nations in December last year.

The accord aims to broaden political and economic cooperation between Brussels and Havana to areas like sustainable development, democracy and human rights, as well as energy, mining, telecommunications and tourism.

The EU has similar agreements with all other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Since 2008, when Cuban President Raul Castro officially took power and launched Cuba's opening up, Havana has signed cooperation agreements with 19 of the 27 countries of the European community. Endi