This was indicated in the final declaration of the second bi-regional ministerial summit that ended Tuesday in Brussels, in which high representatives of the 33 countries of the CELAC and the 28 of the EU participated.

‘We reiterate our rejection of the application of those unilateral coercive measures with extraterritorial effect that are contrary to international law and reiterate the need to end the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed on Cuba,’ the text said.

The two regional blocs reaffirmed their rejection of this hostile policy, maintained by Washington for more than half a century.

‘These measures have caused undue humanitarian consequences for the Cuban people and are damaging the legitimate development of commercial ties among Cuba, the European Union, and other countries,’ the statement added.

On the other hand, at the closing press conference of the conclave, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, stressed that the EU remains committed to the Agreement on Political Dialogue and Cooperation signed between that bloc and Cuba.

The instrument, signed at the end of 2016, made it possible to establish a favorable framework for advancing bilateral ties.

On numerous occasions, both parties have denounced the negative effects of the blockade and its extraterritorial application, in the expansion of the links between the community entity and the Caribbean nation.

The ministerial meeting between the EU and CELAC was held on Monday and Tuesday in Brussels, aimed at continuing to promote cooperation between the two regional organizations.

(Prensa Latina)

(Council of State transcript / GI translation)

Dear President Rafael Correa;

Heads of State and Government;

Heads of delegations and guests:

Just over four years ago, when Our America commemorated the bicentenary of its independence struggles, the 33 states of the region came together for the first time, with a common aim.

Since then it has been demonstrated, just as President Raúl Castro Ruz stated in his speech to the National Assembly of People’s Power of the Republic of Cuba last December 29, that “it is essential to defend the unity of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), as an indispensable, legitimate, unitary mechanism of political agreement and integration…”

Mr. President:

In recent years, the challenges and dangers facing Latin America and the Caribbean have multiplied, due to an increasingly complex and unstable international political and economic situation. As such, working together in unity, while respecting our diversity and our differences, constitutes an indisputable necessity.

To this end, the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, officially signed in Havana on January 29, 2014, commits us to respect the inalienable right of every state to choose its own political, economic, social and cultural system; to peacefully resolve our differences, and not to intervene, directly or indirectly, in the internal affairs of other states.

Latin America and the Caribbean remains the most unequal region in the world in terms of wealth distribution. Current statistics, despite the questionable concepts on which they are based, demonstrate that 397 million of our citizens, or 63%, are immersed in a state of vulnerability and poverty, a figure that could increase, given the adverse international economic conditions.

That a single Latin American or Caribbean go hungry, or not know how to read and write, or be plunged into poverty, is a concern for all, which we must resolve together.

That in Latin America and the Caribbean differences proliferate, and we are unable to solve them by means of dialogue; or we are intolerant of the diversity of political, economic and social systems; or indifferent to the very particular problems of small island countries in our region, is also a problem to solve among ourselves.

Cuba believes in cooperation, solidarity and the need for collective action, beyond egotism and intransigence. We have in CELAC the principles and mechanisms to achieve this.

We enjoy, among the achievements of this Community, instruments to define common positions in extra-regional relations, in compliance with the tenets of the Proclamation (of a Zone of Peace), which all states are urged to fully respect in their relations with our countries.

In this spirit, we are profoundly grateful for the solidarity of our brothers and sisters in Latin America and the Caribbean regarding the demand for an end to the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the U.S. government against Cuba, which remains intact despite the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries; the support for the territory illegally occupied for over a century by the naval base of the United States in the Cuban province of Guantánamo to be returned to our people; and support for legal, orderly, safe migration in our region and an end to policies such as the wet foot-dry foot” policy, which encroach on the human rights of migrants and create many difficulties for countries in our region, particularly transit countries.

In the same vein of solidarity, we reiterate our strongest support to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the victim of a complicated international economic situation, aggravated by prolonged economic, media and psychological warfare, and numerous destabilizing acts encouraged and supported from abroad. We demand the repeal of the Executive Order of President Obama, declaring Venezuela a threat to U.S. national security, and the elimination of the sanctions applied on this basis to Venezuelan citizens. We reiterate that the Venezuelan government and people deserve the broadest regional and international solidarity.

We note the progress made in the peace talks between the government of Colombia and the FARC-EP, which are closer than ever to ending the conflict that has afflicted the country for over half a century. Cuba, as guarantor and host nation, will continue contributing to these efforts.

Our support for the people of Puerto Rico in the search for self-determination and independence remains invariable, as reiterated by CELAC.

We support the efforts of the Argentine Republic to recover the legitimately Argentine territories of the Islas Malvinas, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.

We continue to accompany the Republic of Ecuador in its demands on transnational corporations who refuse to recognize and correct the serious ecological damage done in the Amazon, and the government of the Citizens’ Revolution against destabilizing attempts.

We also extend our solidarity and support to President Dilma Rousseff and the brotherly people of Brazil in the battle being waged to defend the social and political gains of the last 13 years.

We stand in solidarity with the countries of the Caribbean in their great efforts to address the effects of climate change; we reject the unfair policies of international financial institutions which prevent their access to financial resources due to their Gross Domestic Product, and we support their demands for reparations for the damages of slavery and colonialism.

Dear President:

Tomorrow, January 28, the 163rd anniversary of the birth of Cuba’s national hero, José Martí, author of the political essay “Our America”, which constitutes a fundamental contribution to the ideals of the continental, anti-colonial and anti-imperialist unity of our peoples, will be commemorated. With his foresight, Martí called on us to implant the world in our republics, but noted that the trunk must be that of our republics.

Tonight, young Cubans, in tribute to Martí, will march with their torches held high from the University of Havana to the site where he suffered imprisonment and forced labor; this is a tradition dating back 63 years, in which many of our heads of state and government participated, on the occasion of the Second CELAC Summit, held in Havana two years ago.

Allow me, finally, to congratulate the Republic of Ecuador and its President Rafael Correa for their efforts in leading CELAC, and thank the Ecuadorian people for welcoming us so warmly to their country.

We pledge our support to the Dominican Republic and President Danilo Medina during their period leading the pro tempore presidency of CELAC that commences now.

Thank you (Applause).

In a statement released this Thursday on the Ecuadoran Foreign Ministry’s website and cited by AVN, CELAC Foreign Ministers noted “these agreements are also the basis for the consolidation of peace on the continent in accordance with the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, adopted in Havana, Cuba on January 28 and 29, 2014.”

The agreement envisages the creation of a special jurisdiction to build a process of stable and lasting peace that guarantees the rights of victims and contributes to reparation. This jurisdiction will include chambers of justice and a court, which will work together with the Truth Commission, in order to investigate, prosecute and convict those involved in crimes committed during the armed conflict.

(Granma)

The two leaders authorized the immediate return of their respective ambassadors; agreed to an investigation of the situation on the border; will meet with ministers on Wednesday, September 23, to discuss border issues and the progressive normalization of the zone; as well as continue to hold talks facilitated by Ecuador and Uruguay, among other points.

Likewise they will establish an agreement to resolve border problems for the benefit of peaceful coexistence and socio-economic development, all within a framework of strengthening dialogue and respect in accordance with international law, reported AVN.

The two leaders gave a press conference after holding a meeting in the Carondelet Palace (Ecuadorian government headquarters), which saw the participation of Ecuador and Uruguay representing CELAC and Unasur, as mediators, according to TeleSur.

This meeting came as a result of repeated calls from both parties to hold talks in order to arrive at a joint solution to the various problems stemming from the Colombian-Venezuelan border situation, such as smuggling, paramilitarism and the arrival of thousands of undocumented Colombians in Venezuela.

(Granma)

Aware of the existence, for more than a century, of the United States Naval Base in Guantanamo, territory of the Republic of Cuba. Acting in the light of the process towards the normalization of relations between the Republic of Cuba and the United States of América, which is an element that contributes to the stability of Latin America and the Caribbean, Considers that the return to the Republic of Cuba of the territory occupied by the US Naval Base in Guantanamo, should be a relevant element of that process, through a bilateral dialogue in conformity with International Law.

During the inauguration ceremony, European Council President Donald Tusk, announced the blocs decision to promote a trust fund to support post-conflict actions.

Tusk praised the peace dialog being carried out by the government of President Juan Manuel Santos and the Revolutionary Forces of Colombia.

He also hailed the process for the re-establishment and normalizations of relations between the United States and Cuba, announced last December 17th.

The EU “hopes for the complete normalization of relations between Cuba and the United States and the end of the embargo”, said Tusk, in reference to the economic, commercial and financial siege imposed to Cuba for the last fifty years.

This unfair policy was also rejected by Ecuador’s Head of State and CELAC pro tempore president Rafael Correa, who hailed the victory of dignity and sovereignty of the Cuban people and the process of re-establishment of relations with the United States.

However, he recalled that it is still necessary to eliminate the inhumane blockade and return to Cuba the illegally occupied territory of Guantanamo Bay.

According to the official program, during the first day of the Summit two closed-door sessions took place, one about the revitalization of the CELAC-EU association and other about the need to face global challenges together.

(Prensa Latina)

The Summit is to gather for two days in Brussels 60 leaders of the European Union and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) with the objective to strengthen bilateral political and economic relations.

Tsipras is scheduled to meet with Presidents Michelle Bachelet (Chile), Dilma Rousseff (Brazil), Evo Morales (Bolivia), and Rafael Correa (Ecuador), as well as with First Vice President of Cuba, Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, and Argentinian Foreign Minister Hector Timerman.

The agenda of the Summit also includes international issues and climate change, in view of the International Conerence on Climate, to be held in Paris in December.

(Prensa Latina)

The delegation also includes Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla; Deputy Foreign Minister Abelardo Moreno Fernández; as well as Norma Goicochea Estenoz, Cuban ambassador to the European Union, among other officials.

(Granma)

The academic, who also heads the delegation from the Network of Italian Communists and the Our America Association, is paying an official visit to Cuba.

Vasapollo’s working agenda includes his participation in an international workshop on social networks and media.

The expert, who has maintained relations with Cuba for over three decades, told Prensa Latina that on this occasion, he visited Pinar del Rio, where he met with authorities from the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), culture and other sectors.

We took advantage of the visit to renew cooperation agreements between Sapienza and the University of Pinar del Rio, and to learn about the implementation of the economic and social guidelines and the changes being made in that province.

He noted that the University of Sapienza is interested in boosting relations with the University of Pinar del Rio and other similar institutions in Cuba.

Vasapollo, who also represents his organization before the ALBA, pointed out that he is working closely with Bolivia and Ecuador, and has just launched his latest book in Pinar del Rio, entitled “Vivir Bien o Muerte” (Living Well or Death), written in conjunction with Cuban Professor Jose Luis Cabrera.

In that regard, he noted that the idea contained in his books, based on Bolivia’s experience, could also be very useful in many parts of the world, due to its vision about the world economic crisis.

He added that it was very interesting for him to participate in the workshop on social networks at Havana’s Convention Center, because it debated how the Internet could be used to counter the media war and ideological terrorism by the right wing against the ALBA, Cuba and Venezuela.

According to Vasapollo, a functional left wing does not exist at present in either Italy or Europe, where it is represented by the struggle of social movements and some grassroots and class trade unions.

About the crisis in Europe and the world, he described it as systemic, because today, the capital does not have a new phase of accumulation to appreciate the reproductive cycle completely: it needs financial speculation, so he considered that his solution is political.

The expert noted that Marxism has not ended, but it is still in force as an instrument and a tool to interpret, learn about and transform today’s complex world.

Vasapollo is also in Havana to present two of his works at the International Book Fair, which will open on Thursday in this capital, and in the ALBA House.

The prominent Italian economist will stay in Cuba until February 22. During his visit, he will give lectures and will meet with the president of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), Kenia Serrano.

He will also meet officials from the ministries of Culture, Foreign Affairs and Higher Education, as well as from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and the Cuban Workers’ Union (CTC), and the relatives of the five Cuban antiterrorist fighters unjustly held in U.S. prisons for 14 years.

More images in: PhotosPL Diaz-Canel called for the goal to be met ‘with one voice’ in an atmosphere of unity, and noted that although advances have been achieved in the last decades, guaranteeing high figures of access to education, students are not reaching the necessary learning levels required for the complex dynamics of the world today.

It is troubling to state, he said, that three years after the deadline for the fulfillment of the education goals formulated in Dakar, some countries in the region are at risk of not meeting any of them.

According to the Cuban Vice President, building elevated and needed paradigms and opinions, like that of a united Latin America and the Caribbean, in a common space of political independence, is indispensable to guarantee education with quality for the peoples.

He stressed that the CELAC bloc that was founded in 2011, “was born to advance resolutely towards the integrity of Latin America and the Caribbean in political, economic, social and cultural spheres, toward the conquest of social welfare and an increased quality of life.

Likewise, it seeks to achieve integrated growth and promote independent and sustainable development on the basis of democracy, equity and broader social justice, with a continuous dialogue to promote regional peace and security.

Representatives from 24 countries, among them 10 Ministers of Education, are attending the meeting that will end this Thursday.

Cuba assumed the pro tempore presidency of the First Summit of Heads of State and Government of the CELAC, which recently met in Chile.