No EU agreement to normalise relations with Cuba
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| Published on Friday, June 15, 2007 |
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BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP): EU member states have failed to agree to normalise ties with Cuba, opting instead to extend a suspension of sanctions on the communist Caribbean island, European diplomats said Thursday.
A "large number" of the 27 member states, led by Spain which normalised its relations with Havana in April, are in favour of definitively dropping the sanctions which were introduced in 2003 but suspended two years later.
But objections continue to be voiced, notably from Britain, the Czech Republic and Sweden, which believe normalisation should not take place without democratic reforms in Cuba, the diplomats said.
Therefore a proposal put forward by the German EU presidency on Wednesday to normalise ties was rejected at a meeting of EU diplomats ahead of a foreign ministers' meeting in Luxembourg on Monday, they added.
The European Union imposed political and diplomatic sanctions on Cuba after Fidel Castro's regime sentenced 75 dissidents to lengthy prison terms and executed three young Cubans who had tried to flee to the United States by boat.
The sanctions -- which notably included restrictions on bilateral government visits -- were suspended in January 2005 at Spain's initiative, following the release of several dissidents.
The draft text to be adopted by the foreign ministers illustrates the differing opinions.
The text acknowledges "the first temporary transfer of power in 48 years from Fidel Castro to a collective leadership led by his brother Raul Castro, which constitutes a new situation," albeit one forced on Castro by illness.
However at the same time, according to a copy of the statement obtained by AFP, it "deplores that the human rights situation has not fundamentally changed," although there is an acknowledged "decrease in the number of political prisoners and acts of harassment."
In the statement, subject to possible last-minute changes, the EU also urges the unconditional release of all political prisoners as a "key priority in its policy towards Cuba".
While maintaining its "extensive dialogue with civil society and the peaceful opposition, the EU would be ready to resume a comprehensive and open political dialogue with the Cuban authorities on all topics of mutual interest," the statement asserts, as long as that dialogue includes the thorny issues of political and human rights.
To sound out the possibilities, a Cuban delegation will be invited to Brussels, the text concludes.
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