EU to lift sanctions against Cuba The European Union is to lift sanctions imposed on Cuba in 2003 in protest at the imprisonment of more than 70 Cuban dissidents by the Castro government.
Earlier, the US state department said it hoped the EU sanctions would not be lifted because there had not been "any kind of fundamental break" with communism as practiced under Fidel Castro.
The original sanctions imposed by the European Union five years ago included a limit on high-level government visits and the participation of EU diplomats in cultural events in Cuba.
In practice, the EU sanctions are largely symbolic. Unlike the US embargo which has been in force since 1962, they do not amount to any restriction on trade or investment.
In the spirit of the new "guidelines" for reprinting news from the Associated Press, this article is brought to you by the British Broadcasting Corporation. Just what impoverished Cubans need... expensive imported European goods.
