The measure occurs amid growing political pressure and complaints from the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance (ARC) about the role of the Havana regime and its link with Russia.
MADRID, Spain.- The European Parliament approved this Wednesday an amendment that calls for suspending the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement (PDCA) between the European Union and Cuba, considering that the Havana regime should no longer benefit from a privileged relationship with the community bloc.
The initiative was presented by MEPs Mariusz Kamiński (Poland) and Carlo Fidanza (Italy), on behalf of the group of European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), within the framework of the annual report on the implementation of the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy for 2025. The amendment, identified as number 82, was incorporated into the final text approved by the European Parliament.
In a message published on the social network
The ECR Group publicly backed the move, noting that “evil regimes like communist Cuba cannot continue to enjoy privileged cooperation with the EU.”
The approved text modifies section 77 of the draft resolution and places Cuba alongside Venezuela and Nicaragua as “authoritarian regimes closely linked to Moscow and Minsk”, which are accused of receiving political and economic support from Russia and of negatively affecting European security, particularly in the context of Russian aggression against Ukraine.
The amendment also reiterates the European Parliament’s concerns about the deterioration of human rights, the repression against the opposition, restrictions on the independent press and civil society, the lack of judicial independence and the erosion of democratic guarantees on the Island, and underlines that these factors are incompatible with a privileged cooperative relationship with the European Union.
The Assembly of the Cuban Resistance (ARC), an organization that has maintained an active campaign against the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement for years, played a fundamental role in the adoption of this amendment. In celebrating this event, which it described as “a fundamental strategic victory in the fight for Cuban freedom,” the ARC noted that “this forceful legislative action is the direct result of the intense and successful diplomatic mission carried out last week in the European Parliament, led by Dr. Orlando Gutiérrez Boronat, secretary general of the ARC.” The support of US congressmen Mario Díaz-Balart and Carlos Giménez, activist Rosa María Payá, Ukrainian parliamentarian Maryan Zablotskyy and representatives of the Hemispheric Front for Freedom, among others, has also been valuable.
In the public hearing held in Brussels last weektitled “Cuban mercenaries in the Russian aggression against Ukraine”, in addition to the ARC, MEPs, Ukrainian representatives and other Cuban exile leaders participated. During the meeting, the recruitment and deployment of Cuban citizens to fight alongside Russian forces was denounced and an immediate change in the European Union’s policy towards Havana was demanded, including the suspension of the PDCA. Among the participants was Mariusz Kamiński himself.
These actions occur in a context of growing questioning of the agreement with Havana within European institutions. In October 2025the Budget Committee of the European Parliament recommended auditing and suspending funding for policies that were not offering the expected results, including the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement with Cuba. The proposal proposed redirecting those resources towards urgent and non-controversial priorities, such as supporting Ukraine against the Russian invasion.
The initiative was promoted by the Conservatives and Reformists bloc and also had the support of other political forces, which reinforced its weight within the negotiation process of the community budget for 2026. Although the opinion still had to go through other institutional procedures, it reflected a significant change in the attitude of the European Parliament towards the Cuban regime.
Along these same lines, last July the ARC carried out a tour of meetings with representatives of the Commission and the European Parliament to demand the end of financing to the Cuban regime.
This diplomatic offensive is part of a broader strategy initiated by the organization in 2023, aimed at eliminating what it considers an economic subsidy to the Cuban Government through the PDCA. As the ARC explains, the agreement only benefits the power structures on the Island and does not contribute to the improvement of human rights, fundamental freedoms or the well-being of the population.
