The European Union is currently Cuba’s largest trading partner, with one third of Cuba’s trade coming from the EU in the form of foreign direct investments and tourism. The EU currently holds the position of little official engagement with Cuba, with no limits on member state engagement. The Common Position of the EU towards Cuba is a soft power instrument which offers dialogue and cooperation in place of threats and hard line stances. It states that full cooperation with Cuba will depend upon changes in human rights conditions and political freedom on the island; however, it does not call for, but encourages, internal reform concerning civil and political rights, and evaluates Cuban developments in these fields in the same way that the EU does with other countries. These are goals to be aimed at, but are not conditional in order for there to be cooperation. With the recent election of the conservative People’s Party in November 2011, it is yet to be seen how EU relations with Cuba will progress in the future, in addition to the inevitable changes that are to come in Cuba, due to aging leaders and global political power shifts.
BOOKS AND PAPERS
Buck, Karl. "Some Comments on the Relations between Cuba and the EU."European Union Center Vol. 7, No.3 (April 2010).
Roy, Joaquin. The Cuban Revolution 1959-2009: Relations with Spain, the EU, and the United States. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
Roy, Joaquin, and Roberto Dominguez. España, la unión europea y la integración latinoamericana. Coral Gables: Ediciones Universal, 2010.
Roy, Joaquin . "The Cuban Revolution (1959-2009) and the European Union: A Documentary Selection of Statements and Declarations." European Union Center (January 2009).
Roy, Joaquin . "Cuba: transición, sucesión, estabilidad, seguridad-contexto de la actuación europea." Jean Monnet/Robert Schuman Paper Series (December 2008).
Von Burgsdorff, Sven Kuhn. “US Policy towards Cuba: Problems and Opportunities for the Incoming Obama Administration.” European Union Center Vol. 9, No. 6 (March 2009).
BASIC LINKS
European Union External Action- EU Relations with Cuba
EU Common Position on Cuba
EU Council Conclusions on Cuba
Delegation of the European Union to Cuba
Gobierno de la Republica de Cuba
Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Cuba
UNESCO and Cuba
US Department of State-Releases pertaining to Cuba
Caricom and Cuba
PERIODICALS AND JOURNALS
EFE Spanish News Agency
El País (Madrid)
La Vanguardia (Barcelona)
Granma
Juventud Rebelde
Havana Journal- Business, Travel, Culture and Politics
European Daily
Reuters
Foreign Affairs
The Economist
THINK TANKS
EU think tank directory
Interamerican Dialogue
Center for Democracy in the Americas
Cubanalisis-El think tank
Brookings Institution
American Enterprise Institute
OTHER
CIA – The World Fact Book
Generación Y, by Yoani Sanchez
Freedom House
Transparency International
Euractiv
USEFUL LINKS
Official European Union Website
Delegation of the European Union to Cuba
EU Common Position on Cuba
EEAS- EU Relations with Cuba
Gobierno de la Republica de Cuba
El Pais - Noticias de Cuba
Granma Internacional
European Studies Center, Havana
