Brussels, Belgium.- The first Cuba-European Union Joint Council is taking place today in this capital in the presence of Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodriguez, and the European diplomatic head, Federica Mogherini.

According to a statement from the European Council, the meeting should review cooperation programs in areas such as energy and agriculture, among others, which will allow strengthening the mutually agreed bilateral framework, based on respect, equality and reciprocity.

The event takes place after the provisional implementation on November 1, 2017, of the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement that was signed by both sides in 2016.

With regard to the provisional implementation of that agreement, the Cuban Foreign Ministry stressed that ‘the relationships between the EU and Cuba will be developed, for the first time, under a contractual framework that reaffirms the bases of respect, observance of international law and the principles included in the Charter of the United Nations.’

The community bloc was pronounced in a similar line. The European diplomatic head stressed that ‘the EU and Cuba are truly turning a page, and the new chapter of our partnership begins now with the provisional application of our new agreement.’

Mogherini carried out her third official visit to Havana in January, occasion in which she reiterated the community group’s willingness to progress in ties with the island.

She also reaffirmed once again the EU’s condemnation to the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States on Cuba for more than 50 years.

In this regard, she asserted that this hostile policy ‘is not the solution,’ and she described it as obsolete and illegal.