EU countries question Spain over Cuba policy

EU countries question Spain over Cuba policy
Europe News
Oct 28, 2009, 13:42 GMT

Madrid - Several European Union countries have asked Spain
to clarify what kind of policy it will pursue in relation to Cuba during
its EU presidency in the first half of 2010, government sources said
Wednesday.

Countries including Germany, the Czech Republic and Lithuania had asked
for a clarification, the sources said.

Spain would like to modify the EU's 1996 'common position' on Cuba,
which links relations to democracy and respect for human rights on the
Caribbean island, the sources explained.

Spain will seek a bilateral agreement similar to the ones the EU has
with countries such as China and Russia, under which Havana would no
longer be subjected to a 'constant scrutiny.'

Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos has come under criticism for not
meeting dissidents during his visit to Havana last week.

Conservative opposition representative Jorge Moragas on Wednesday
accused Moratinos of ignoring the EU position on Cuba and of having
become an 'ambassador of Castroism,' in a reference to Cuban leader Raul
Castro and his predecessor Fidel Castro.

Moratinos said the Spanish government had an 'enormous respect' for
Cuban dissidents, with whom it was in constant contact, adding that it
was not 'compulsory' for him to meet them during his visit.

EU countries question Spain over Cuba policy - Monsters and Critics (28
October 2009)
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/article_1509868.php/EU-countries-question-Spain-over-Cuba-policy