The plenary of the European Parliament called on Thursday to suspend the application of the political dialogue and cooperation agreement in force between the European Union and the island of Cuba, in view of the repression to which opponents on the island are subjected.
The European Parliament made this request in a resolution that passed with 374 votes in favor, 198 against and 19 abstentions.
Members of the European Parliament noted that, if no concrete and verifiable steps are taken by the regime toward multiparty democracy, they urge the immediate suspension of the aforementioned agreement, which governs bilateral relations between the EU and Havana, and the application of sanctions against those responsible for repression in Cuba, including its president, Miguel Díaz-Canel.
The text condemns the systematic human rights violations by the Cuban regime against political prisoners and their families, starting with the case of 72-year-old dissident Félix Navarro and his daughter Saylí Navarro, who is co-founder of the Ladies in White, an organization that received the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Conscience awarded by the European Parliament in 2005. Father and daughter were detained following the July 2021 protests and sentenced to nine and eight years in prison, respectively.
The resolution also denounces the absence of fair trials, the use of torture during detentions, and the systematic use of forced exile as a condition for the release of opponents. MEPs called for the repeal of the Penal Code, expressed concern over the deteriorating health of Félix Navarro, and urged his release and that of all political prisoners.
They recalled that Cuba continues to hold 1,339 political prisoners, of whom 155 are women and 38 are minors, while 463 suffer from serious physical illnesses and 54 suffer from severe mental disorders without, they stated, receiving adequate medical care.
The initiative was driven by a majority formed by the European People's Party, the liberals, and other organizations of the European right. Socialist MEP Marco Tarquinio questioned the procedure that would terminate the dialogue and cooperation agreement with Cuba, "and uses as a pretext the certainly serious case of human rights violations against Félix and Saylí Navarro." However, he argued that this dialogue contributed in April 2026 to the release of 2,100 prisoners of conscience.
From the European People's Party, Antonio López-Istúriz shifted the criticism to the terrain of Spanish foreign policy and denounced that, while Cubans suffer "imprisonment, torture and persecution," the government of Spanish President Pedro Sánchez is preparing the "red carpet to receive the leaders of the dictatorships of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela" at the upcoming Ibero-American Summit to be held in Madrid.
Source: EFE and AFP
