On 17 June 2026, The Left Group in the European Parliament tabled nine amendments to a joint motion for a resolution on political repression and the humanitarian situation in Cuba, seeking to fundamentally reframe the text. The amendments shift the focus from internal Cuban governance to the external impact of US sanctions, condemning the embargo as illegal and calling on the EU to enforce its blocking statute against extraterritorial measures. The amendments, authored by 31 MEPs including Danilo Della Valle and Rima Hassan, are proposals still to be examined and voted on; they do not represent the Parliament's adopted position.
The amendments introduce new recitals and operative paragraphs that explicitly condemn US President Trump's 2026 executive measures and secondary sanctions as "economic warfare" and a "direct attack on European economic sovereignty." They label the US embargo "illegal, extraterritorial and contrary to international law," cite the annual UN General Assembly vote against it, and condemn Cuba's re-listing as a State Sponsor of Terrorism as "politically motivated." The amendments also warn against any US threat of force against Cuba. A new recital highlights the EU's own blocking statute (Council Regulation 2271/96) against extraterritorial sanctions, and an operative paragraph calls on the Commission and Member States to "fully and consistently apply" this regulation to prevent EU alignment with US sanctions and to ensure no European company complies with them.
The amendments detail the "devastating impact" of US sanctions on Cuba's access to fuel, electricity, and medicines, citing specific humanitarian consequences like 20-hour blackouts. They also reference a 2025 Lancet study estimating 564,000 annual deaths globally from unilateral sanctions, calling for an end to the US embargo based on these findings. In a direct counter to the original resolution's negative framing of Cuban internationalism, one amendment highlights the Cuban medical brigade in Calabria, Italy, as a "positive example of international medical cooperation" that generated gratitude among European citizens.
The amendments, all tabled by The Left Group, fundamentally challenge the original joint motion's premise by redefining the primary source of suffering as US economic warfare rather than internal Cuban government actions. No amendments from other political groups (PPE, ECR, Renew) are present in this set. The amendments will be examined and voted on in plenary; if adopted, they would replace the original resolution's critique of Cuban governance with a strong condemnation of US sanctions, a defense of Cuban sovereignty, and a call for robust EU countermeasures.