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The European Union
Perception of Cuba: From Frustration to Irritation |
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Joaquín
Roy
Canadian Foundation for the Americas (FOCAL)
September 2003
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
 Fidel
Castro dramatically selected the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of his
failed attack against the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba on July 26, 1953,
for his rejection of any kind of humanitarian assistance, economic cooperation,
and political dialogue with the European Union (EU) and its member states,
signaling one of the lowest points in European-Cuban relations.1 Just days
before the anniversary of what later history would recognize as the prelude of
the Cuban Revolution, the European Union’s Foreign Relations Council issued a
harsh criticism of the regime’s latest policies and personal insults against
some European leaders (notably, Spain’s José María Aznar), in essence freezing
all prospects of closer relations. The overall context was, of course, the
global uncertainty of the U.S. occupation of Iraq in the aftermath of the
post-September 11 tension. Having survived the end of the Cold War and the
perennial U.S. harassment, the Castro regime seemed to have lost its most
precious alternative source of international cooperation, if not economic
support.
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October 05, 2003
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