EU lifts Cuba sanctions
CUBA: The EU officially lifted its sanctions on Cuba Monday in
the hope of encouraging democracy on the island in the post-Fidel Castro
era, in a move decried by Washington and Cuban dissidents.
"The problems that came up during the day have been resolved. The
decision has been adopted," a spokesman for the current Slovenian
presidency of the bloc said, referring to a procedural error that had
briefly delayed the move.
The measure was a largely symbolic political step as the European
Union sanctions have been suspended since 2005. It was championed by
Spain, which normalised relations with Cuba last year.
The political decision was taken by EU foreign ministers at a meeting
last Thursday but the move received formal endorsement at a meeting of
European agriculture ministers in Luxembourg.
Earlier, the wrong version of the text for the decision was
presented, causing a delay, the Slovenian spokesman said. The Swedish
delegation noticed that an annex with conditions on the lifting of the
sanctions was missing.
Among the conditions tied to the lifting of the sanctions, which
restricted high-level diplomatic contacts, is a clause obliging the EU
to review the human rights situation in the communist-ruled island
yearly.
The sanctions were applied in 2003 after a crackdown on dissidents in
Cuba under its former president Fidel Castro, whose brother Raul
formally took over this year.
Twenty of the 75 dissidents jailed in that crackdown have since been
freed.
Washington said last week it was "disappointed" by the EU decision to
lift sanctions against what it views as a repressive dictatorship. "We
think the Castros need to take a number of steps to improve the human
rights conditions for ordinary Cubans before any sanctions are lifted,"
National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.
Leading Cuban dissidents also expressed disappointment, fearing
further crackdowns.
"We are going to expect horrible things to happen to the opposition,"
Martha Beatriz Roque, one of the released dissidents. told AFP.
Luxembourg, Tuesday, AFP |
