"The European Union has for a long time worked with Cuba. Then there was this moment of certain restrictions and for a long time, now I think since two years, the European Union is indeed negotiating a partnership and cooperation agreement with Cuba," Ferrero-Waldner said ahead of the EU-CELAC summit.
She stressed that the European Union began repairing its ties with Cuba long before the so-called Cuban Thaw saw in a historic warming of Cuba-US relations in 2014.
Cuba and the European Union opened negotiations on a Political Dialogue and Cooperation bilateral agreement in 2014. According to the European Union External Action (EEAS), the 28-nation bloc is Cuba’s second most important trading partner and the island’s biggest foreign investor.
In March, EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini became the first top EU diplomat to visit the communist state.
US President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro announced their plans to normalize bilateral relations in December 2014.
The rapprochement measures will include reopening respective embassies in Havana and Washington, DC after the two countries severed diplomatic ties in 1961.
Last month, the United States officially removed Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, paving the way for the removal of the longstanding embargo, first imposed by the United States on Cuba in 1960.
Relations between the European Union and Latin America have become stagnant because of the EU’s priorities in different areas, including the Ukraine conflict, the Islamic State, terrorism and migration concerns, the EU-LAC Foundation President Benita Ferrero-Waldner said.
"Whereas Latin America did not have or does not have the conflicts, which on the one hand is excellent, but on the other hand, does not always put the first priority, political priority on them," Ferrero-Waldner said, adding that overall relations between Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean nations have been stable for years.
She also said that the two regions need to achieve a political breakthrough in order to deepen cooperation..
This drive for broader political ties should include a new mechanism of communication for foreign ministers, according to Ferrero-Waldner.
The second EU-CELAC summit, bringing together European, Latin American and Caribbean leaders, began in Brussels on Wednesday, with over 60 heads of state or government due to attend the two-day event.
Competition and productivity in the European Union and Latin American countries can grow if the regions work together to take advantage of each other's strengths, the president of the EU-LAC Foundation stated.
"Both the EU and Latin America have to increase their competitiveness and productivity with regard to Asian countries and with regard of course to the United States of America," Benita Ferrero-Waldner said ahead of the EU-CELAC [Community of Latin American and Caribbean States] summit.
Ferrero-Waldner, who is an Austrian ex-Foreign Minister and former EU Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighborhood Policy, added that the two regions must develop mutual education opportunities, as it will lead to increased productivity.
The European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean established a strategic partnership in 1999.
On June 10-11, 61 heads of state and government from CELAC and EU member states are expected to attend the second EU-CELAC summit in Brussels.
