No 'common policy,' as Europe grapples over its future ties with Cuba

Commentary:
No 'common policy,' as Europe grapples over its future ties with Cuba
Published on Saturday, February 6, 2010
By Evgenij Haperskij, COHA Research Associate

In January, Spain took over the presidency of the Council of the
European Union. Despite being deeply affected by the global financial
crisis, Spain confidently proclaimed ambitious objectives for its term
at the head of the EU, including the cancellation of the EU's "Common
Position." The latter defines the EU policy towards Cuba that has been
in place since 1996. During his two-day visit to the Caribbean island
last October, Spanish foreign minister Miguel Angel Moratinos stated
that Spain wants "to give up the Common Position in order to obtain
bilateral agreements."

Undoubtedly the motivations behind Spain's initiative are at least
partially economic in nature. Moratinos explained that the Iberian
nation has negotiated for Cuban authorities to pay their debts to
Spanish companies. Cuba's president Raúl Castro has promised to repeal
the payment block of approximately $300 million due to the 280 Spanish
companies currently operating in Cuba or have some other financial stake
in the country. After strong opposition from Eastern European members,
states such as the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia, Spain eventually
withdrew its initiative allowing the EU to maintain the Common Position
for the present time. In fact, such acquiescence has little or no
significance for the actual Cuba policy that will be followed by
individual European states, as national interests tend to outweigh
supranational positions. Spain has always conducted its policy toward
the Castro regime according to its primary concerns such as economic
desiderata, its colonial legacy and cultural kinship. This is in stark
contrast to the anti-Cuban stance of the Common Position. From the
beginning, the latter was more a reflection of a prudent compromise
between Eastern and Western Europe than an actual formula fixedly
guiding national policy. The EU has struggled to achieve the numerous
objectives obligated by adopting the Common Position.

Hidden reasons for the "Common Position"

The two main objectives of the Common Position policy have been: (1) to
"encourage a process of transition to pluralist democracy and respect
for human rights and fundamental freedoms," and (2) to contribute "to a
sustainable recovery and improvement of the living standards of the
Cuban people." Thereby, the EU conditions its support of Cuban economic
development to progress made in democratic reforms. Although the
promotion of democracy has been the declared objective of the Common
Position, its companion goal was economic engagement. At its heart, the
Common Position was the European response to the United States'
Helms-Burton Act, which was passed by overwhelming majorities in both
Houses of Congress on March of 1996, shortly before the "Common
Position" was implemented.

The Cuban Air Force shot down two American aircraft in February of 1996
flown by pilots of the Miami anti-Castro organization, "Brothers to the
Rescue". That same month, the Clinton administration passed "The Cuban
Liberty Act," also known as the Helms-Burton Act. Helms-Burton was aimed
at tightening the already existing embargo against Cuba that was
introduced under the Kennedy administration in 1960. Title III of
Helms-Burton outlines that the U.S. intents to prosecute foreign
companies "allegedly trafficking property formerly owned by US citizens
but expropriated by Cuba" after the 1959 revolution. With this law, the
Clinton Administration hoped to bring down the Castro regime as fast as
possible, through a policy of extreme isolation and restricting access
to resources. But at the same time, this policy of isolation directly
threatened the trade between foreign countries and Cuba, thereby
prompting retaliation action by critics of Helms-Burton in the EU member
states. However, that legislation allowed the President of the United
States to waive Title III every six months, so that foreign countries
would not be prosecuted under its provisions. In July of 1996, Clinton
aggressively encouraged Washington's allies to accelerate change in Cuba
by promising that the suspension of Title III would depend "upon whether
others have joined us in promoting democracy in Cuba." The Common
Position, which was adopted by the EU member states on December 2, 1996,
can be seen as an accommodative reaction to the Helms-Burton Act and the
desire by Brussels to waive the appointment of Title III from being
applied to its members.

Before the implementation of the Common Position, the European Union's
policy toward Cuba strived to foster constructive engagement with
Havana. It sought to unconditionally promote democratic ideals and
respect for human rights through informal, cultural and economic
exchanges, as well as many other vehicles. The Common Position radically
changed European policy by tying humanitarian aid and economic
cooperation to democratic reforms and respect for human rights in Cuba.
This EU policy more closely reflected the United States' own policy on
Cuba by stipulating that humanitarian aid and economic relations are
dependent upon democratic change. The shift in policy had more to do
with trans-Atlantic relations than with European-Cuban relations, and
was primarily designed to protect business interests.

Ironically, Spain, the country that today wants to abandon the Common
Position, was initially responsible for its implementation in 1996,
during the incumbency of Prime Minister José María Aznar. Due to its
historic close ties with Cuba, Spain has influenced European policy
toward the island nation more than any other member of the EU. In 1996,
Spain was Cuba's number one European trading partner and was
particularly exposed to the negative impact of the Helms-Burton Act. In
response, it pursued a change in European policy toward Cuba to secure
its own investments on the island. The conservative government under
Aznar initiated the Common Position against the consensus of many
European ministers. Spain initially based the Common Position on
pragmatic objectives, not on any long-term ideological vision.

National interests outmatch supranational strategy

Although the "Common Position" implies a common European policy, there
are different and even contradictory policies toward Cuba to be found
within the EU. Germany and the United Kingdom maintain a similar stance
toward Havana to that of the US. However, France, Belgium and Portugal
favor a policy of stronger engagement. Due to Cuba's historic,
unflinching support of Moscow's communist regime, the eastern states of
the EU maintain an critical position toward Cuba. The Eastern states
prefer to focus their policy on strengthening democracy and promoting
human rights on the island, along with relying upon an assortment of
anti-Havana diplomatic deployments.

After a short period under Aznar, in 1996-97, Spain began to ease away
from backing the Common Position and since then has shifted its
priorities by crafting policy more akin to its domestic economic
interests. After Cuba jailed 75 dissidents in June of 2003, the EU
decided, at Spain's behest, to review its Cuba policy. This review
resulted in a commitment to limit high-level government visits, reduce
member states' participation in cultural events in Cuba and invite
representatives of dissident groups and spouses of political prisoners
to national day receptions. Consequently, Fidel Castro boycotted all
European-related diplomatic functions. As a result, a number of European
countries moved to scale back their embassies' interactions with Havana
officials. In 2005, many European countries, again led by Spain,
suspended the earlier 2003 diplomatic measures. By 2008, Spain was
working to fully lift the various diplomatic restraints against Cuba by
rejecting US pleas to maintain the status quo regarding diplomatic
pressure on the island. During his visit to Havana, Spain's foreign
minister Moratinos carefully avoided meetings with Cuban dissidents. Now
in 2010, Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Zapatero has moved to cancel
the "Common Position" altogether.

Human Rights in Cuba

Cuba is the only nation in Latin America lacking a cooperation agreement
with the EU. Also, groups such as Mercado Común del Sur MERCOSUR, the
Andean Community, The United States-Dominican Republic Free Trade
Agreement (CAFTA) and the Caribbean Community have already initiated
regional agreements with the EU. Furthermore, the Caribbean countries
have signed the Cotonou Agreement, a pact between the EU, African,
Caribbean and Pacific group of states aimed at reducing poverty and
promoting criminal justice in those regions, along with addressing trade
matters. But any agreement between the EU and Cuba is not possible
because of the Common Position, which demands a democratic transition
and the respect of human rights in the country before economic
assistance can be extended to the island nation.

This being said, not much has changed since the implementation of the
Common Position; Cuba has not been transformed into a democratic society
under the rule of the Castros, who have led the state for 50 years. In
November 2009, the middle-of-the-road Human Rights Watch (HRW) published
the report "New Castro, Same Cuba," its first report on human rights in
Cuba since Fidel Castro took leave of the presidency in June of 2006 due
to illness. While observers hoped Cuba would become more democratic
after Raúl took over in 2008, the report charges that, in fact, he has
established new laws that restrict freedom of speech and criminalize any
opposing opinions.

According to the report, individuals who are deemed a threat to Raúl
Castro's reign are imprisoned "before they have planned or committed any
crime." Human rights organizations such as HRW perhaps intemperately
criticize Spain's intention to give up the Common Position, as "it would
send the signal that the EU does not care about the fate of political
prisoners in Cuba. If the EU wants to improve the human rights situation
in Cuba it must strengthen its present Cuba policy and make it more
effective rather than dismiss it," says Latin America director of HRW,
José Miguel Vivanco.

No common policy

The Common Position's impact on Cuban policy has been negligible. While
Cuba remains the only Latin American country without cooperation
agreements and a regular political dialogue with the EU, its unilateral
trade and diplomatic lines to individual EU members is an adequate
substitute for Brussels support.

Despite their ability to speak with one voice most of the time,
ultimately, the interests in the bloc of 27 states are too diverse,
pluralistic and multipolar to always be able to act as one. Although the
Common Position is supposed to affect the national foreign policy of
every European country, "there are many ways to undermine it," said
Prof. Philip Brenner, Cuban expert at American University. Over 20
bilateral agreements between Cuba and European states have been signed,
indicating that although a Common EU Position formally exists toward
Havana. In reality there is no common policy at least not on this issue.

Caribbean Net News: Commentary: No 'common policy,' as Europe grapples
over its future ties with Cuba (7 February 2010)
http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/article.php?news_id=21318