Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the bilateral EU-Cuba Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement and the end of the common position on UK relations with Cuba.

Negotiation of the EU-Cuba Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement (PDCA) has concluded after a number of years. The PDCA will support our Cuba policy to seek greater political dialogue, increase trade and investment, strengthen cooperation and support development that benefits the Cuban people.

The 1996 Common Position was widely seen as outdated, prompting negotiations for a new agreement in the form of the PDCA. The Common position remains the basis for the EU’s policy towards Cuba.