A delegation from the National Assembly of People’s Power of Cuba (ANPP) develops today a day of work in the European Parliament which includes meetings with MEPs and members of the Friendship Group with the Island.
The Ambassador of Havana in Belgium and before the European Union, Yaira Jiménez Roig, informed from her Twitter account that the secretary of the ANPP, Homero Acosta, who heads the representation, had already held a meeting with the vice president of the European Parliament, Pineapple Picierno.
#Cuba?? and #Belgium?? strengthen parliamentary ties in #Brussels
➡️President of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, @elianetillieuxreceived this Monday @HomeroAcostaA.| Via @YairaJR @EmbacubaBelgica|
➡️https://t.co/0zPtjXsQ6e pic.twitter.com/2RdBNScUiV— Cuban National Assembly (@AsambleaCuba) June 21, 2022
According to a report from the Cuban News Agency (ACN), at the meeting the Italian MEP recognized the development of Cuba in the social and cultural sphere.
The work program of the Cuban representation will run until June 24, and includes visits to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
The day before, Homero Acosta, who is also secretary of the Council of State, was received by the president of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, Éliane Tillieux, as part of this working visit. Acosta, and the delegation that accompanies him, arrived on Sunday on Belgian soil from France, according to the ANPP itself.
The delegation is also made up of deputies Estela Cristina Luna, president of the Health and Sports Commission, and Luis Morlote, vice president of the Education, Culture, Science, Technology and Environment Commission.
The EU and Cuba In 2016 they signed the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement, the first legal framework to regulate their relations.
According to Ephthe text entered into force provisionally in November 2017 and marked the end of the isolation of the Caribbean country as the only one in the region with which the EU did not yet have a bilateral pact.
In recent months, and after the protests of last July, many MEPs have urged the Cuban Government to redefine its human rights policy and have demanded the participation of civil society and the opposition in the social and political life of Cuba, statements that the Cuban National Assembly has rejected.
Fruitful exchange on the political, economic and social reality of our country between the delegation of the @AsambleaCuba and the Friendship Group with the Island in the European Parliament.#CubaIsNotAlone pic.twitter.com/KUM5bK6SVJ
– Yaira Jiménez Roig (@YairaJR) June 21, 2022
Cuba’s legislative body, the Spanish agency points out, has been in favor of developing respectful relations with the EP, but has warned that it will not allow what it considers “interference” in the island’s internal affairs.
In a message from Twitter, MEP Manu Pineda, who has visited the island several times, wrote: “Cuba comes to give us a lesson in respect for Human Rights and how to put politics at the service of life.”