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The
European Union has agreed to launch negotiations with Cuba aimed at restoring
full bilateral relations with the Communist-run island.
The talks,
which could begin as soon as next month, will try to increase trade and
investment, and include a dialogue on human rights, officials said.
Since 1996,
the EU has restricted its ties with Cuba to encourage multi-party democracy and
progress on human rights.
The bloc is
Cuba's second-biggest trading partner after Venezuela.
It
represents a major source of investment, and hundreds of thousands of European
tourists visit the island every year.
'More
opportunities'
EU foreign
policy chief Catherine Ashton stressed that human rights remained "at the
core" of its dealings with Cuba.
"These
negotiations will help consolidate our engagement with Cuba," she said.
"I hope Cuba will take up this offer."
EU ambassador to Havana, Herman Portocarero, said the aim was to support change |
The
announcement comes with Cuba engaged in an economic and social reform process
launched by President Raul Castro.
The EU
ambassador to Havana, Herman Portocarero, said the aim was to support and
accompany "change on the island" while also promoting human rights.
A legal
bilateral relationship would bring "more opportunities", he added.
The move indicates
the most important diplomatic shift since the EU lifted sanctions against Cuba
in 2008.
It follows
the visit by Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans to Cuba in January. During
his trip, Mr Timmermans called on the EU to change its policy toward the
island.
He said the
best way to promote change was through dialogue, not isolation.
In 1996,
the EU agreed on a set of rules governing its relations with Cuba, called the
Common Position.
It states
that the EU's objective is "to encourage a process of transition to a
pluralist democracy and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, as
well as sustainable recovery and improvement in the living standards of the
Cuban people".
Despite the
policy, more than half of EU member states have bilateral agreements with Cuba.
Cuba has
rejected the Common Position, arguing that it constitutes an interference in
its internal affairs.
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