MidnightCall Magazine
News From Israel MagazineEU Agrees to Scrap Cuba Sanctions
The European Union's foreign ministers have agreed to lift its diplomatic sanctions on Havana, which date back to 2003, allowing member states to renew high-level contacts with the Cuban regime, now headed by Raul Castro.The deal was struck in the early hours of Friday (20 June), after the Czech Republic and Sweden – backed by Germany – dropped their opposition to the policy shift.The new EU line is to be annually reviewed and unanimously assessed by all 27 member states, with special attention to be paid to human rights issues. "If the assessment results are not satisfactory, this EU policy will come to an end," the paper says, translated from the Czech language.
When asked about what "real progress" means, Czech foreign minister Karel Schwarzenberg replied by pointing to a number of Prague's priorities. They include a change in the "horrifying" situation of some 200 political prisoners and the international community having access to them. In addition, every high-level visit to Cuba should also include meetings with representatives of the democratic opposition. The EU froze high-level diplomatic relations with Havana in 2003 after the jailing of 75 dissidents and the execution of three people attempting to flee to the US. The EU measures were temporarily suspended in 2005 and are reviewed every six months.The shift in climate comes after President Raul Castro took over from his brother, Fidel, in February. He has since lifted restrictions on islanders buying mobile phones and computers, and has permitted more room for political debate.-euoberserver.com, 20 June 2008
The lifting of sanctions gives communist Cuba a tremendous boost. Doubtless, the Cuban government will be careful not to violate the principles laid out by the EU, since sanctions can be reinstituted at any time.
This also goes in line with the global progress of unity among the nations.
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