Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque (R) shakes hands with EU Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid Perspectives Louis Michel on March 7, 2008 in Havana. Michel arrived in Cuba Thursday in a visit aimeing to explore the possibility of a dialogue normalizing the relationship between the European Union and Cuba. BY MARK DEEN and LEON MANGASARIAN European Union leaders ended a ban on diplomatic ties with Cuba four months after Fidel Castro stepped aside as president and his brother became head of state. The sanctions were imposed in 2003 after Cuba jailed opposition activists and executed others who had tried to emigrate. They’ve been suspended since 2005, a position that is reconsidered every six months under EU rules. “The voice with which we speak with Cuba is going to be much stronger,'’ Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg told journalists after meeting with EU counterparts in Brussels. “We are going to continue to assess the situation. We are going to continue to make contacts with the democratic opposition.'’ Since the ascension of Raul Castro in February, there have been indications that Cuba would become more tolerant of dissident voices. The 27-member EU said today it wants to see more progress, while holding out an olive branch to Cubans and their new government. “We see encouraging signs in Cuba,'’ EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said before the meeting. “We should show th ...
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Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque (R) shakes hands with EU Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid Perspectives Louis Michel on March 7, 2008 in Havana. Michel arrived in Cuba Thursday in a visit aimeing to explore the possibility of a dialogue normalizing the relationship between the European Union and Cuba. BY MARK DEEN and LEON MANGASARIAN European Union leaders ended a ban on diplomatic ties with Cuba four months after Fidel Castro stepped aside as president and his brother became head of state. The sanctions were imposed in 2003 after Cuba jailed opposition activists and executed others who had tried to emigrate. They’ve been suspended since 2005, a position that is reconsidered every six months under EU rules. “The voice with which we speak with Cuba is going to be much stronger,'’ Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg told journalists after meeting with EU counterparts in Brussels. “We are going to continue to assess the situation. We are going to continue to make contacts with the democratic opposition.'’ Since the ascension of Raul Castro in February, there have been indications that Cuba would become more tolerant of dissident voices. The 27-member EU said today it wants to see more progress, while holding out an olive branch to Cubans and their new government. “We see encouraging signs in Cuba,'’ EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said before the meeting. “We should show th ...