Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez today denounced the lack of transparency and manipulative behavior of the European Union (EU) in the preparation of the 3rd CELAC-EU Summit.
 
In a video shared on Twitter, the Cuban foreign minister stressed that such actions seriously jeopardize the success of the meeting and the possibility of reaching final agreements.
 
He added that there are reasons to be concerned about the III Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the EU, scheduled to be held on July 17 and 18 in Brussels, as they are trying to impose restrictive and divisive formats that would make direct and transparent discussions impossible.
 
The Minister insisted that they are also trying to hide the content of the debates from the press and the public opinion and are unilaterally organizing forums parallel to the meeting.
 
Likewise, he explained that the European side decides on its own who will be the representatives of the Latin American and Caribbean region in these events, a procedure that, besides being disrespectful, creates the conditions for these forums to become scenarios for attacks against Celac member countries.
 
"There is little time left, but it is not too late to avoid a failure", stressed the head of the Caribbean nation's diplomacy.
 
Rodriguez pointed out that the Summit can and should be a space for serious, participatory and plural dialogue, which identifies solutions to collectively face, despite differences, the multiple global challenges.
 
In this regard, he noted that Cuba will attend the Summit in a constructive spirit and will contribute to strengthen, on the basis of equality and mutual respect, dialogue and cooperation between the two blocs, for the benefit of the peoples of both regions and the world.
 
The Minister expressed his hope that the meeting will allow for the expansion of mutually advantageous cooperation in high-priority areas such as financing for development, the fight against climate change, food security and renewable energies, among others.
 
He said that they aspire to a meeting that reaffirms the strict respect for the Charter of the United Nations, international law and the postulates of the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace.
 
"Our region has changed, CELAC is its solid and unitary voice and must be respected. Those who try to impose a biased and Europeanist vision on the bi-regional relationship, pretending to ignore the priorities and interests of our region, will have no chance of success in Brussels," he said.
 
Rodriguez explained that the leaders of both regions will meet again after eight years without doing so, in a very complicated international context; and that beyond speeches and declarations, the reality is that no progress has been made in bi-regional ties, and even in the last period they have gone backwards.