Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Government has strongly supported the conclusion of the EU-Cuba Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement, which was signed by each member state and the Cuban Minister for Foreign Affairs in the margins of the Foreign Affairs Council in December 2016. This was the first bilateral agreement to be signed between the EU and Cuba. Its signature marked a further positive step forward in relations between the EU and Cuba, which have improved considerably in recent years. The agreement is robust and comprehensive, consisting of three main pillars, namely, political dialogue, co-operation and sectoral policy dialogue and trade and trade co-operation. The core aim is to open channels of dialogue and co-operation between the EU and Cuba in order to assist the modernisation of the Cuban economy and society, strengthen human rights and democracy and work together to achieve the sustainable development goals.

In July 2017, the European Parliament voted to endorse the EU-Cuba Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement and in May 2018, the first EU-Cuba joint council took place in Brussels during which implementation was discussed. While most of the agreement has been provisionally applied since November 2017, its full application will require ratification by the EU once all member states have completed their own internal legal procedures. As it stands, 14 member states have done so. The remaining member states, including Ireland, have yet to complete their internal procedures. I look forward to working with colleagues in the Oireachtas to complete Ireland’s internal legal procedures and work is under way towards this objective. I hope to have it completed before the end of the year.

The entry into force of the EU-Cuba Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement and improvements in the EU-Cuba relationship will in turn have helpful consequences for the Ireland-Cuba relationship. Ireland has a positive relationship with Cuba which was further cemented by the successful visit of President Higgins to the island in February 2017. My assessment is that this agreement provides a solid framework and welcome opportunity to strengthen both EU-Cuba and Ireland-Cuba relations. I look forward to continued positive developments in the period ahead, including the completion by Ireland of the internal legal procedures necessary for ratification during 2018.

See this speech in context