"The blockade is not the solution. The Europeans have told our American friends many times; we have affirmed it in the United Nations… We know well that the sole effect of the blockade is to worsen the quality of life of women, men and children… The blockade is obsolete, it is illegal," EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini said Wednesday in Havana as quoted by Telesur broadcaster.
Mogherini is paying a visit to Cuba to hold meetings with the country's leadership and discuss the prospects of bilateral relations between the Caribbean nation and the European Union. The joint implementation of the bilateral Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement (PDCA), signed in 2016, is also on the agenda.
In November 2017, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution, underlining the necessity of lifting the economic, commercial, and financial embargo imposed by the United States on Cuba. As many as 191 countries have adopted the resolution, with two countries — the United States and Israel — having voted against the document.
READ MORE: EU-Cuba Agreement Signals New Era in Bilateral Relations In Spite Of US Blockade
In 2014, the United States and Cuba expressed their intention to start working on the normalization of relations between the two countries. In 2015, Washington and Havana restored diplomatic relations, while signing several bilateral agreements. However, the trade embargo against Cuba, imposed by the US Congress, following the triumph of the Cuban revolution in 1959, has not been lifted.
