EU TREATY GIVING CUBA REGIMEN ACCESS TO BILLIONS.

CONTACT: Leandra Solano media@cubadecide.org 305.209.5649 MEDIA ALERT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 24, 2020

LITHUANIAN PARLIAMENT LEADERS, THE FOUNDATION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN CUBA, & ROSA MARIA PAYA FROM THE CUBA DECIDE PLATFORM, CONDEMN EU TREATY GIVING CUBA REGIMEN ACCESS TO BILLIONS.

Allows incentives for EU investments in Cuba, access to capital, open trade policies

Vilnius, Lithuania – The Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba (FHRC) and Rosa Maria Payá from the Cuba Decide Platform spoke before the Lithuanian parliament today to highlight the repercussions of approving the European Union’s (EU) treaty allowing Cuba access to billions of dollars. The full remarks are available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8Um7CZYJ9Q Initially passed in 2017, the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and the Republic of Cuba (PDCA) extends a line of credit to the Cuban dictatorship, offers incentives for investment and allows for trade and exchange of goods and assets prohibited by US sanctions. The agreement must have 100 percent approval by all member states within the EU to take effect. Lithuania is the only member that has not yet ratified the treaty. “The treaty makes a number of grandiose statements but fails to establish any clear objectives. and accountability for vital issues like human trafficking, treatment akin to slavery, torture and persecution of political dissidents. Giving Cuba a blank check is not only unwise, it’s criminal,” said Hugo Achá, the Director of Research for the Foundation of Human Rights in Cuba. The treaty provides incentives for investment in Cuba; allows free trade opportunities to/from EU & the Cuban dictatorship; and provides access to billions of dollars in funds through a line of credit and other resources. The language indicates that European financial institutions and development agencies are now qualified to provide financial support and direct investment through this agreement. It specifically mentions the European Investment Bank (EIB). “According to statute, the EIB is permitted to invest up to 10 percent outside the EU. By diverting even one percent of that capital to Cuba, the regime would have access to approximately $3.3 billion USD,” Achá said. The treaty also opens new venues for illicit activities within the Cuban regime, and it beefs up support for existing programs like the export of “technical missions,” and the exchange of goods and assets prohibited by US sanctions. “The interference and systematic destabilization efforts organized by the Cuban dictatorship in the region are well documented in countries like Venezuela, Bolivia and others. Interference that has intensified during these years of provisional implementation of the PDCA, while the repression against anyone with an alternative opinion in Cuba has intensified considerably and the living conditions of the people have deteriorated. The text does not condition cooperation or trade with the regime to respect human rights or respect for democracy. We ask the people and parliamentarians of Lithuania, who know the misfortunes of communism and the importance of international solidarity, to take sides with the Cuban people and not to ratify Agreement, since maintaining this kind of cooperation and dialogue with the Cuban dictatorship would be to betray the democratic values that sustain Europe,” said Cuban human rights activist Rosa Maria Payá. "Signing the treaty on the ratification of the ‘Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and its Member States and the Republic of Cuba’ means that Lithuania is joining the communist-repressive dictatorships, such as the Cuban, Venezuelan and Belarussian regimes,” said Lithuanian Seimas Foreign Relations Committee Member Audronius Azubulis. “By opening up the EU's financial streams to the Cuban regime, not only do we help it survive, we also contradict our biggest guarantor of security, the US and other supporters of a no-leniency policy.”

About Cuba Decide Cuba Decide is a citizen initiative to change the political and economic system in Cuba provoking a peaceful transition process towards democracy. THE STRATEGY Generate the pressure necessary to force the regime to submit to the will of the people through coordinated non-violent action of the citizens and the international community. Convert thousands of Cubans into agents of change through a platform that informs, involves, and mobilizes citizens on the Island. THE TOOL Cubans must be free to decide their future. To make the change, Cuba Decide proposes that the will of Cubans be expressed and complied with through a binding plebiscite in Cuba ―a direct vote of the people― to answer the following question: Are you in agreement with the convening of free, fair and plural elections exercising freedom of expression and of the press, and organizing freely in political parties and social organizations with total plurality? Yes or No?   JOIN US A tremendous mobilization effort is under way! Learn more and join our movement at cubadecide.org. Be part of our conversations on Facebook.com/CubaDecide and on Twitter and Instagram by following the user @CubaDecide and using the #CubaDecide tag.   FDP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which promotes the Cuba Decide platform alongside thousands of Cubans.