Enviado: 20/5/2005 21:36UPDATE 3-EU warns Cuba over lawmakers' expulsions
20/05/2005 21:22
(Updates with third Spaniard's expulsion paragraph 2, Spain summoning ambassador paragraphs 4, 17)
By Marcin Grajewski
BRUSSELS, May 20 (Reuters) - The European Union said on Friday its relations with Cuba could suffer following recent expulsions of European parliamentarians from the island by Fidel Castro's communist government.
Cuba expelled a Czech senator and a German legislator on Thursday, hours before they were due to attend a meeting sponsored by Castro's opponents. Two former Spanish senators were expelled on Thursday followed by a legislator on Friday, party officials said.
UPDATE 3-EU warns Cuba over lawmakers' expulsions
20/05/2005 21:22
(Updates with third Spaniard's expulsion paragraph 2, Spain summoning ambassador paragraphs 4, 17)
By Marcin Grajewski
BRUSSELS, May 20 (Reuters) - The European Union said on Friday its relations with Cuba could suffer following recent expulsions of European parliamentarians from the island by Fidel Castro's communist government.
Cuba expelled a Czech senator and a German legislator on Thursday, hours before they were due to attend a meeting sponsored by Castro's opponents. Two former Spanish senators were expelled on Thursday followed by a legislator on Friday, party officials said.
Authorities also detained four European journalists and denied entry to two Polish members of the European Parliament who planned to attend dissident meetings.
Italy and Spain summoned the Cuban ambassadors in Rome and Madrid over the arrests and expulsions.
"This is not acceptable ... As such incidents occur even the best friends of Cuba would find it difficult to maintain their position," Amadeu Tardio, spokesman of the executive European Commission, told a news conference.
He said any change in the 25-nation EU's stance towards Cuba could come only at a June meeting of its foreign ministers.
The ministers are to decide whether to continue the current policy of diplomatic dialogue with Castro or reapply diplomatic sanctions over human rights abuses.
The EU upgraded its relations with Cuba on Jan. 31 at the request of Spain's Socialist government.
The Union had earlier suspended high-level visits while Cuba froze contacts with EU diplomats after they began inviting dissidents to their national day receptions in Havana -- in what was known as "the cocktail war".
The two Polish deputies who were turned away at Havana airport appealed on Friday to reinstate the diplomatic restrictions.
"The change of the European policy towards Cuba does not bring any results," Jacek Protasiewicz and Boguslaw Sonik wrote in a letter to EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
"Fidel Castro's regime does not liberalise its internal policy towards human rights activists and nor does it open itself for honest contacts with the EU," they added.
The expelled German legislator Arnold Vaatz told a news conference in Madrid -- where Cuban authorities sent him after collecting him from his hotel -- that dissidents in Cuba felt the European policy shift had made life harder for them.
"What it has achieved ... is that the degree of lost autonomy, the degree of terror and the degree of the regime's arbitrariness has increased month after month," Vaatz, deputy head of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag said.
But diplomats said EU foreign ministers were unlikely to discuss Cuba at this month's meeting on Monday.
EU newcomer Poland called on Cuba to free the three Polish journalists detained on Friday and expected to be deported while Rome called for the Italian journalist to be released and summoned the Cuban ambassador "for clarifications".
Spain also summoned the Cuban ambassador, a diplomatic source said without giving further details. (Additional reporting by Emma Ross-Thomas in Madrid) ((Writing by Marcin Grajewski, editing by Sami Aboudi; marcin.grajewski@reuters.com; Reuters messaging: marcin.grajewski.reuters.com@reuters.net; Phone: +32 2 287 6835))
Authorities also detained four European journalists and denied entry to two Polish members of the European Parliament who planned to attend dissident meetings.
Italy and Spain summoned the Cuban ambassadors in Rome and Madrid over the arrests and expulsions.
"This is not acceptable ... As such incidents occur even the best friends of Cuba would find it difficult to maintain their position," Amadeu Tardio, spokesman of the executive European Commission, told a news conference.
He said any change in the 25-nation EU's stance towards Cuba could come only at a June meeting of its foreign ministers.
The ministers are to decide whether to continue the current policy of diplomatic dialogue with Castro or reapply diplomatic sanctions over human rights abuses.
The EU upgraded its relations with Cuba on Jan. 31 at the request of Spain's Socialist government.
The Union had earlier suspended high-level visits while Cuba froze contacts with EU diplomats after they began inviting dissidents to their national day receptions in Havana -- in what was known as "the cocktail war".
The two Polish deputies who were turned away at Havana airport appealed on Friday to reinstate the diplomatic restrictions.
"The change of the European policy towards Cuba does not bring any results," Jacek Protasiewicz and Boguslaw Sonik wrote in a letter to EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
"Fidel Castro's regime does not liberalise its internal policy towards human rights activists and nor does it open itself for honest contacts with the EU," they added.
The expelled German legislator Arnold Vaatz told a news conference in Madrid -- where Cuban authorities sent him after collecting him from his hotel -- that dissidents in Cuba felt the European policy shift had made life harder for them.
"What it has achieved ... is that the degree of lost autonomy, the degree of terror and the degree of the regime's arbitrariness has increased month after month," Vaatz, deputy head of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag said.
But diplomats said EU foreign ministers were unlikely to discuss Cuba at this month's meeting on Monday.
EU newcomer Poland called on Cuba to free the three Polish journalists detained on Friday and expected to be deported while Rome called for the Italian journalist to be released and summoned the Cuban ambassador "for clarifications".
Spain also summoned the Cuban ambassador, a diplomatic source said without giving further details. (Additional reporting by Emma Ross-Thomas in Madrid) ((Writing by Marcin Grajewski, editing by Sami Aboudi; marcin.grajewski@reuters.com; Reuters messaging: marcin.grajewski.reuters.com@reuters.net; Phone: +32 2 287 6835))
20/05/2005 21:22
(Updates with third Spaniard's expulsion paragraph 2, Spain summoning ambassador paragraphs 4, 17)
By Marcin Grajewski
BRUSSELS, May 20 (Reuters) - The European Union said on Friday its relations with Cuba could suffer following recent expulsions of European parliamentarians from the island by Fidel Castro's communist government.
Cuba expelled a Czech senator and a German legislator on Thursday, hours before they were due to attend a meeting sponsored by Castro's opponents. Two former Spanish senators were expelled on Thursday followed by a legislator on Friday, party officials said.
UPDATE 3-EU warns Cuba over lawmakers' expulsions
20/05/2005 21:22
(Updates with third Spaniard's expulsion paragraph 2, Spain summoning ambassador paragraphs 4, 17)
By Marcin Grajewski
BRUSSELS, May 20 (Reuters) - The European Union said on Friday its relations with Cuba could suffer following recent expulsions of European parliamentarians from the island by Fidel Castro's communist government.
Cuba expelled a Czech senator and a German legislator on Thursday, hours before they were due to attend a meeting sponsored by Castro's opponents. Two former Spanish senators were expelled on Thursday followed by a legislator on Friday, party officials said.
Authorities also detained four European journalists and denied entry to two Polish members of the European Parliament who planned to attend dissident meetings.
Italy and Spain summoned the Cuban ambassadors in Rome and Madrid over the arrests and expulsions.
"This is not acceptable ... As such incidents occur even the best friends of Cuba would find it difficult to maintain their position," Amadeu Tardio, spokesman of the executive European Commission, told a news conference.
He said any change in the 25-nation EU's stance towards Cuba could come only at a June meeting of its foreign ministers.
The ministers are to decide whether to continue the current policy of diplomatic dialogue with Castro or reapply diplomatic sanctions over human rights abuses.
The EU upgraded its relations with Cuba on Jan. 31 at the request of Spain's Socialist government.
The Union had earlier suspended high-level visits while Cuba froze contacts with EU diplomats after they began inviting dissidents to their national day receptions in Havana -- in what was known as "the cocktail war".
The two Polish deputies who were turned away at Havana airport appealed on Friday to reinstate the diplomatic restrictions.
"The change of the European policy towards Cuba does not bring any results," Jacek Protasiewicz and Boguslaw Sonik wrote in a letter to EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
"Fidel Castro's regime does not liberalise its internal policy towards human rights activists and nor does it open itself for honest contacts with the EU," they added.
The expelled German legislator Arnold Vaatz told a news conference in Madrid -- where Cuban authorities sent him after collecting him from his hotel -- that dissidents in Cuba felt the European policy shift had made life harder for them.
"What it has achieved ... is that the degree of lost autonomy, the degree of terror and the degree of the regime's arbitrariness has increased month after month," Vaatz, deputy head of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag said.
But diplomats said EU foreign ministers were unlikely to discuss Cuba at this month's meeting on Monday.
EU newcomer Poland called on Cuba to free the three Polish journalists detained on Friday and expected to be deported while Rome called for the Italian journalist to be released and summoned the Cuban ambassador "for clarifications".
Spain also summoned the Cuban ambassador, a diplomatic source said without giving further details. (Additional reporting by Emma Ross-Thomas in Madrid) ((Writing by Marcin Grajewski, editing by Sami Aboudi; marcin.grajewski@reuters.com; Reuters messaging: marcin.grajewski.reuters.com@reuters.net; Phone: +32 2 287 6835))
Authorities also detained four European journalists and denied entry to two Polish members of the European Parliament who planned to attend dissident meetings.
Italy and Spain summoned the Cuban ambassadors in Rome and Madrid over the arrests and expulsions.
"This is not acceptable ... As such incidents occur even the best friends of Cuba would find it difficult to maintain their position," Amadeu Tardio, spokesman of the executive European Commission, told a news conference.
He said any change in the 25-nation EU's stance towards Cuba could come only at a June meeting of its foreign ministers.
The ministers are to decide whether to continue the current policy of diplomatic dialogue with Castro or reapply diplomatic sanctions over human rights abuses.
The EU upgraded its relations with Cuba on Jan. 31 at the request of Spain's Socialist government.
The Union had earlier suspended high-level visits while Cuba froze contacts with EU diplomats after they began inviting dissidents to their national day receptions in Havana -- in what was known as "the cocktail war".
The two Polish deputies who were turned away at Havana airport appealed on Friday to reinstate the diplomatic restrictions.
"The change of the European policy towards Cuba does not bring any results," Jacek Protasiewicz and Boguslaw Sonik wrote in a letter to EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
"Fidel Castro's regime does not liberalise its internal policy towards human rights activists and nor does it open itself for honest contacts with the EU," they added.
The expelled German legislator Arnold Vaatz told a news conference in Madrid -- where Cuban authorities sent him after collecting him from his hotel -- that dissidents in Cuba felt the European policy shift had made life harder for them.
"What it has achieved ... is that the degree of lost autonomy, the degree of terror and the degree of the regime's arbitrariness has increased month after month," Vaatz, deputy head of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag said.
But diplomats said EU foreign ministers were unlikely to discuss Cuba at this month's meeting on Monday.
EU newcomer Poland called on Cuba to free the three Polish journalists detained on Friday and expected to be deported while Rome called for the Italian journalist to be released and summoned the Cuban ambassador "for clarifications".
Spain also summoned the Cuban ambassador, a diplomatic source said without giving further details. (Additional reporting by Emma Ross-Thomas in Madrid) ((Writing by Marcin Grajewski, editing by Sami Aboudi; marcin.grajewski@reuters.com; Reuters messaging: marcin.grajewski.reuters.com@reuters.net; Phone: +32 2 287 6835))