Cooperation on institutional reform
and social policies

This thematic cluster addresses the challenges Cuba faces in order to adapt its institutional structures and social policies to the island's changing economic and social realities, and asks what the prospects for EU-Cuba cooperation are in these fields. The Raúl Castro government embarked on a wide-reaching agenda of change to the country's institutional design that goes beyond the economic sphere to include discussions on constitutional reform, electoral law, the administrative structure, and new regulations on the media and the use of digital communication technologies, among many others. A particularly important field is the updating of the country's social policies, as it seems that to preserve the high levels of social coverage significant changes must be made. Some changes are already in place, others remain pending or in the process of design or implementation.

The union and its member states face similar challenges, and in the context of the framework agreement signed the EU's academic and professional communities can share experiences and work together to find solutions. This is a process from which both parties will learn, since both are seeking to answer the question of how to adapt the welfare state developed in the 20th century to the current era of accelerated globalisation and digitalisation. The papers will be coordinated by GIGA and the University of Havana, with the participation of: USAL, the University of Zurich, the University of Alicante, IHEAL and UCM.