Published on Thursday, June 14, 2007
By Mark John
BRUSSELS, Belgium (Reuters): European Union states agreed on Wednesday
to invite a Cuban delegation to Brussels to explore the scope for a
gradual thaw in ties, but backed away from ending a four-year-old freeze
in contacts.
The 27-member bloc imposed the freeze after a crackdown on dissidents on
the communist-run island in 2003. It eased restrictions on some
lower-level contacts in 2005 and Spain has been leading a push for
relations to be fully normalised.
Diplomats said the Spanish campaign had met resistance from others, such
as the ex-communist Czech Republic, which objected to such a move,
pointing to reports of human rights abuses.
"The EU would be ready to resume a comprehensive and open dialogue with
the Cuban authorities on all topics of mutual interest," a draft
statement prepared by envoys for EU foreign ministers meeting next
Monday said.
"In the context of this dialogue, the EU will outline to the Cuban
government its views on democracy, universal human rights and
fundamental freedoms. For sounding this out, a Cuban delegation will be
invited to Brussels," said the statement, a copy of which was obtained
by Reuters.
The statement left out a passage from an earlier draft saying the EU was
ready to lift the 2003 sanctions -- a move that would have irked the
United States, which has tried to isolate the island with a 45-year-old
economic embargo.
Diplomats said a number of eastern European countries which joined the
bloc in 2004 still had vivid memories of repression under communism and
believed that normalising ties would send the wrong signal to the Cuban
leadership.
The statement deplored a lack of progress on human rights and urged the
release of all political prisoners, adding: "This issue constitutes a
key priority in (EU) policy towards Cuba."
It noted that last July's temporary handover of power by Fidel Castro to
a collective leadership led by his brother Raul Castro "constitutes a
new situation" and called on Cuban authorities to make economic and
political reforms.
Aside from limiting official contacts in 2003, the EU urged its
diplomats to shun Cuban cultural events and invited dissidents to
receptions at EU embassies in Havana, sparking a row with Cuba widely
dubbed "cocktail wars".
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