国际英语新闻:EU, Cuba ink milestone deal to normalize relations

BRUSSELS, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) and Cuba on Monday inked a milestone agreement in a bid to normalize political relations and enhance trade cooperation after decades of discord.

The Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement (PDCA) was signed by EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, representatives of EU's 28 member states, and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla.

"We are starting to write a new chapter together," Mogherini said at the signing ceremony.

The accord aims to broaden political and economic cooperation between Brussels and Havana to areas like sustainable development, democracy and human rights, as well as energy, mining, telecommunications and tourism.

The signing of the Agreement marks another achievement for Havana's foreign policy, following the restoration of diplomatic ties with the United States and the renegotiation of its debt with creditors of the Paris-based club of 34 wealthy nations in December last year.

The negotiation of the PDCA started in April 2014 and ended after seven rounds in March 2016.

The agreement was formally initialed On March 11, 2016, when Mogherini visited Havana for the seventh formal EU-Cuba political dialogue meeting.

On Dec.6, the council of the EU decided to sign the PDCA and repealed the EU 1996 Common Position on Cuba, which conditioned relations with Cuba to the encouragement of democracy and respect for human rights.

The Common Position led to a prolonged distance between Brussels and Havana, as the Cuban government slammed this as a "selective and discriminatory" policy.

However, after Venezuela, the EU is Cuba's second-largest trading partner, its main foreign investor and the important provider of cooperation funds. The EU has invested heavily in Cuba, especially in the electricity, water, healthcare, food and agriculture sectors.

The agreement signed Monday will remain provisional, until it is ratified by the European Parliament, as well as by each of the member countries.

The EU has similar agreements with all other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.