The EU and Cuba held their sixth round of
negotiations towards a bilateral Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement
(PDCA) in Brussels on 1st and 2nd December 2015.
All three main chapters of the PDCA were
discussed - political dialogue, cooperation and policy dialogue as well as
trade and economic cooperation. The discussions took place in a constructive
atmosphere demonstrating the ambition of both sides to make progress towards
concluding the Agreement as early as possible and continue enhancing their
relations.
The parties reached final agreement on all
elements of the Trade and economic cooperation chapter. In addition, the
negotiation of the Cooperation and Policy Dialogue chapter was almost
completed, including on outstanding issues, such as consular protection and
support to economic operators and business support organisations.
With respect to the Political Dialogue, the
Parties made substantial progress, and reached agreement on a good number of
the provisions in this chapter. In a few areas, further discussions between the
Parties are still necessary during the next round to allow positions to
converge. Both sides also started to exchange views on the general,
institutional and final provisions as well as the Preamble of the future
Agreement, in order to explain and clarify the proposals tabled.
The Parties agreed to meet again in Havana
during the first months of 2016 for the 7th round of negotiations. Delegations
were led by Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Abelardo Moreno and EEAS Deputy
Secretary General Christian Leffler.
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