“Cuba heading for collapse”: the European Parliament calls for democratic reforms and the release of political prisoners

Brussels – On which side of history does the European Union stand with regard to Cuba? MEPs made this clear today (18 June) in the plenary session with their vote on the resolution concerning Cuba.The resolution states that fifty years of communist rule in Cuba are leading the country towards collapse and that, in the absence of clear steps towards a democratic transition in the short term, the EU should also suspend political dialogue and the cooperation agreement. Adopted with 283 votes in favour, 199 against, and 85 abstentions, the resolution calls on the Cuban regime to release all political prisoners immediately and unconditionally, to implement far-reaching economic and political reforms, to step up aid to overcome the humanitarian crisis and to end military cooperation with Russia and Belarus. 

The figures presented by the European Parliament are “record-breaking”: at the end of May 2026, Cuba held 1,281 political prisoners, including minors. The EU Parliament “denounces the brutal and relentless repression as the sole mechanism keeping the regime in power” and emphasises that “the current humanitarian emergency—with 89 per cent of families living in extreme poverty—is not the result of the external embargo, but of the regime’s choices and failures.” 

Cuba is currently facing one of the greatest humanitarian, health and economic crises ever recorded. The embargo—illegal—imposed by the United States and in force for over sixty years, which the UN continues to condemn as “a violation of human rights”, is strangling the country’s economy. The disruption of supplies from Venezuela and the blockade on fuel imports have plunged Cuba into an even more severe crisis. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has described the situation as “deeply worrying” due to the unprecedented humanitarian emergency on the island. Finally, US threats are a source of acute concern, ranging from tightened sanctions to public statements that keep tensions high and fuel questions about the true direction of US policy. 

On the sidelines of the debate in the European Parliament, a number of MEPs, including Ilaria Salis (Alliance of Greens and the Left, Italy), Benedetta Scuderi (Green Europe, Italy) and Annalisa Corrado (Democratic Party, Italy), Danilo Della Valle (Five Star Movement, Italy), together with activists from the Let Cuba Breathe association, displayed a giant board game inspired by Monopoly, renamed “Trumpoly”, to highlight the effects of the US embargo against Cuba. The Left group tabled an alternative resolution, drafted and proposed by the Five Star Movement, which recognises Cuba’s right to sovereignty and freedom because, as Della Valle explained, “the resolution voted on regarding Cuba demonstrates once again just how much the EU is on the wrong side of history.” In March, four elected members of the European Parliament set sail aboard a new “Flotilla” to carry out a humanitarian mission to deliver medicines and essential supplies to the Cuban people.