Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 January 2014
77. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the Dutch Foreign Minister’s recent trip to Cuba; if he is aware that the Netherlands has broken ranks with the EU by signing a deal to open political talks and trade ties with Cuba; if he supports this move; and if his Department will follow suit and positively adjust its relationship with Cuba. [1592/14]
View answerAs the Deputy notes, the Foreign Minister of the Netherlands, Mr Frans Timmermans, visited Cuba from 5-7 January last with a view to strengthening bilateral ties. I understand that Minister Timmermans met with the Cuban Foreign Minister and other members of the Cuban Government as well as with representatives of civil society.
Amongst the themes of this visit, which covered issues such as cooperation, investment and sporting ties as well as human rights, the Dutch and Cuban Foreign Ministers signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a framework for bilateral consultations between the two Foreign Ministries.
The EU’s Common Position on Cuba provides the framework for cooperation with Cuba on a range of social, economic and human rights issues, and Ireland and other EU member states pursue bilateral interests in line with this Position.
The signature of bilateral agreements by member states on issues of mutual interest does not in and of itself constitute a departure from EU policy towards Cuba provided that the EU member states concerned develop their respective bilateral relationships in line with the overall framework of the EU’s Common Position on Cuba.
With regard to Ireland’s bilateral relations with Cuba, I would like to see our positive relations develop further. Officials of my Department have discussed with Cuban officials the possibility of a bilateral cooperation agreement. This on-going engagement builds on political contacts as well as a Declaration on bilateral relations that both countries signed in 2010. As a bilateral agreement drafted in line with EU, Irish and Cuban positions would provide further support for greater bilateral cooperation and dialogue across various areas of interest, I have asked officials of my Department to work with Cuban officials to intensify efforts to bring forward a proposal in this regard.
At the level of EU – Cuba relations, there have been positive developments in recent years which Ireland supports. Political Dialogue between the European Union and Cuba resumed in 2008 and a development cooperation programme of Euro 20 million was allocated for the 2010 – 2013 period. More recently, the Foreign Affairs Council agreed in November 2012 to begin the process of elaborating negotiating directives for an EU-Cuba agreement that would likely cover political dialogue, development cooperation and trade. Draft negotiating directives are currently under discussion between Member States and Ireland is playing an active and constructive role in these discussions.
