1. Louis Michel, Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Assistance visited Havana from 7 to 9 March 2008 following the invitation by Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs Felipe Pérez Roque. During the visit Commissioner Michel held official conversations with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Felipe Pérez Roque. He was also received by Carlos Lage, Vice President of the Council of State of the Republic of Cuba; Ricardo Alarcón, President of the National Assembly of People’s Power; Marta Lomas, Minister for Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation; Fernando González, Minister par interim of Science, Technology and the Environment; and Division General Ramón Pardo Guerra, Chief of the National General Staff for Civil Defense, among other Cuban authorities.

2. The two parties discussed a wide-range of issues, including the political, human rights, trade and economic, scientific and cultural spheres. A particular focus was placed on the process of dialogue between the Government of Cuba and the European Union and the possibilities of identifying areas of common interest.

3. In the course of these meetings, the parties agreed that relations between Cuba and the European Union should be based on the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, notably those of sovereign equality, respect for sovereignty and non-interference in a nation's internal affairs and abstention from the threat or use of force in international relations. They recalled paragraph 13 of the Declaration of the IV EU-LAC Summit that says: “We firmly reject all coercive measures of unilateral character with extraterritorial effect that are contrary to international law and the commonly accepted rules of free trade. We agree that this type of practice poses a serious threat to multilateralism. In this context, recalling UNGA resolution (62/3), we reaffirm our well-known positions on the application of the extraterritorial provisions of the Helms Burton Act”.

4. The parties confirmed their support for multilaterlism and expressed their conviction that international differences should be resolved through dialogue and negotiation. They restated their commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and stressed the need to prioritize measures that would ensure these were achieved.

5. They expressed satisfaction with the first exploratory, fact-finding contact between the troika of the EU and Cuba at ministerial level, which took place in New York on 24 September 2007.

6. They also highlighted participation by Cuba, at the invitation of Commissioner Michel, in the sessions on development held in Lisbon in November 2007. They likewise stressed the usefulness of the two recent technical missions of the Directorate General for Development of the European Commission.

7. The parties agreed that future relations between the EU and Cuba should be based on reciprocity, be non-discriminatory and should address the outstanding problems that were impeding the development of such relations.

8. As regards the process of dialogue between the EU and Cuba, both parties reiterated their wish to see it move forward and considered constructive dialogue to be the best means to contribute to the normalization of relations. The two parties discussed extensively the measures on Cuba adopted by the EU in 2003. Cuba considers them as the main obstacle to the establishment of a political dialogue with the EU and that they should be definitively eliminated. The European Commission acknowledged this position.

9. Both parties agreed that there are a number of areas where policy dialogue could be mutually beneficial when conditions so allow, notably in the field of environment (biological corridor), trade (access to EU markets), food security, science and technology, cultural exchanges, disaster prevention and risk preparedness. It is intended that work will continue towards an exploration of these issues, building on the outcome of the missions of Commissioner’s Service.

10. The parties exchanged views on the political situation of the EU and Cuba and regarding key issues on the current international agenda, such as climate change, terrorism, international peace and security, human rights and United Nations reform.

11. The parties reaffirmed their readiness to continue working to create the conditions for normalizing relations between the EU and Cuba.

Havana, 8 March, 2008.