By IPS Correspondents
HAVANA, Jul 21 2006 (IPS)

The Cuban government’s rejection of European Union funds for cooperation projects, and its new regulations for seeking international funding, threaten the continuity of European non-governmental agencies’ work on the island.

Resolution 15 of the Ministry for Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation, in force since May, stipulates that Cuba will not accept any conditions “that lead to intrusion in Cuban domestic affairs or go against the principles of the revolution.”

The resolution states that economic cooperation must be guided by “the priorities established by the government” and should not be aimed at “the creation of social services or distribution systems” parallel to those of the state. It also subjects the search for funding sources to government approval.

Differences between Cuba and the European Union (EU) date from 1996, when the European bloc adopted a “common position” in its foreign policy towards Havana, demanding democratic change and respect for human rights.

In 2003 the differences deepened when the EU adopted political sanctions against Cuba after 75 dissidents were jailed and three people who had hijacked a passenger ferry in an attempt to sail to the United States were executed by firing squad.

In response, Cuba’s socialist government verbally notified the EU on Aug. 27, 2003 that it would refuse all official aid directly administered by the EU or by European aid agencies.

Marco Terreni, one of the directors of the Italian sustainable development project Havana Ecopolis, told IPS that the Cuban government’s current policy of “refusing funds” from official European sources is hurting the work he does in Cuba. The EU “is our main source of funding, not just in Cuba but in every country,” so now “we are trying to strengthen decentralised cooperation” – that is to say, funding from “small organisations, associations, municipalities and regions” in Europe, he said. However, the funds available are “smaller, isolated amounts,” which “puts us in difficulties,” he emphasised.

Havana Ecopolis is a consortium of Italian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) which has worked on different cooperation projects since 2000. Their activities have spanned sociocultural projects, improving urban environments and environmental protection, in five municipalities in the Cuban capital.

Terreni said that 10 years ago, when they were considering working in Cuba, Havana Ecopolis performed a study “based on the needs of the ‘special period,’ at a time of administrative decentralisation.”

In the early 1990s, after the collapse of the East European socialist bloc, Cuba fell into a severe economic crisis which the government called the “special period,” during which a cautious opening of the economy was seen.

In those difficult years, the country accepted donations from humanitarian organisations and permitted the presence of NGOs, as well as the arrival of humanitarian aid from the EU to alleviate material scarcities affecting the population.

It was in those circumstances that the Italian cooperation organisation was founded, with the aim of its projects becoming self-sustaining.

Havana Ecopolis has carried out small projects in Cuban municipalities, aimed at “sowing a seed, to show that it is possible to work in a different way” from that of the state, Terreni explained.

Among the group’s achievements are the creation of community centres that offer training and recreation opportunities to youth clubs as well as programmes for the elderly; improvement of the environment in a deteriorated area of the capital; partial outfitting of a literary museum; and the recovery of the coastal ecosystem in the east of Havana.

But Terreni regretted that since 2000, working conditions for the projects have grown increasingly complicated. “There has been a radical change” towards centralising the Cuban economy, he said.

The government is currently looking towards Venezuela and China, with which it signed several agreements in late 2004 for the development of joint cooperation and business partnerships in strategic areas such as the oil and nickel industries.

Terreni said that if Havana Ecopolis and other European NGOs end up withdrawing from the island, it is likely that the structures built so far “will unfortunately disappear,” because the aid is focused on “Cuban municipalities that have limited finances.”

María Elena Ortiz, the government counterpart of Havana Ecopolis, agreed with Terreni’s assessment. Without the support from Italy, the project “is not yet sustainable,” Ortiz told IPS.

The authorities’ shift towards centralising the economy since 2003, added to the restrictions imposed by the recent regulations on international donor funds, will make “a great deal of cooperation disappear,” Terreni predicted.

“Many colleagues (in other NGOs) from different countries are leaving Cuba: they have no choice, because they don’t have access to decentralised funding.”

Personnel at the European Commission (the executive organ of the EU) office in Havana were asked by IPS about the number of NGOs remaining in Cuba. They said they had no confirmed figures, but pointed out that there are “German, Swedish and French” aid workers, and also European organisations that “work in a different way,” such as “Spain’s aid programme, which has certain advantages.”

“It’s easier for them (the Spanish) because they have “funding from autonomous municipal governments, and although these are a part of the government they have a different image,” said the official representing the EU in Cuba.

In contrast, Havana Ecopolis, which was funded by the Italian foreign ministry up to the period 2002-2005, “faces a more complicated situation,” he added.

Terreni stated that Havana Ecopolis “does not side with any government, but with the needs of the people,” and since “people’s difficulties” continue to exist, “we want to go on” helping.

Havana Ecopolis will carry “on with the hope of pulling through the crisis, and achieving a better outlook in the future. Our idea is to remain active in our cooperation with Cuba because of our values, one of which is solidarity,” Terreni concluded.

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