The Estonian NGO e-Governance Academy (eGA) has decided to freeze the supply of technological equipment for the “Digital Cuba” project, an initiative financed by the European Union to modernize the Cuban public administration.
According to declared to the local press Anu Wakhtra-Hellat, spokesperson for eGA, the reasons are the crisis that the Island is going through. “The tender for the purchase of equipment will be completed, as required by the public procurement law, for the moment. However, these devices will not be supplied to Cuba. We will wait for better times in Cuba,” he stated.
The decision, however, appears to have been made after pressure from the Estonian Legislature. Last Tuesday, the media reported ErreGA received a visit from the Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, whose president, Marko Mihkelson, had previously criticized aid programs for Cuba.
Mihkelson stated that these should be reviewed, since “the world has changed” and the aid that was sent supported “the Cuban regime, not its people.” He also added that Havana participates “actively in the war in Ukraine on the Russian side.”
Given the pressure that Cuba receives from the United States, the European Union should not remain an observer
“I think the eGA does not need the bad reputation that comes with supporting the Cuban regime in this way,” Minkelson said, adding that given the pressure Cuba is receiving from the United States, the European Union should not remain an observer, but rather take independent measures, including refusing to support the Cuban regime with financial aid.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna had already announced that the country would formally ask the European Union to review its policy towards Cuba and increase pressure on the Island’s Government. He recalled that Estonia has modified its position in the United Nations to stop supporting resolutions against the US embargo; Among other reasons, he mentioned the repression following the July 11, 2021 protests in Cuba, the restrictions on freedom of expression and Havana’s growing cooperation with Russia and Belarus.
The “Cuba Digital” project had been questioned from the beginning. Err cited the report “Freedom on the Net 2024” of Freedom House, in which Cuba is in a very unfavorable position with only 20 out of 100 points in terms of digital freedom. The report points out barriers to access to the Internet, censorship of content and violations of user rights. This questions whether administrative technological modernization in Cuba helps users, since, in reality, it would reinforce the control mechanisms of a Government that prohibits political pluralism, censors independent media and represses basic freedoms.
