Vanessa Bauza

HAVANA · Those who have watched the European Union and Cuba's roller-coaster relations over the years were hardly surprised last Monday when EU foreign ministers reversed mild diplomatic sanctions against Havana in favor of renewing dialogue.

Critics have long argued that engagement with Havana is a futile exercise. What's more, even President Fidel Castro belittled the Europeans' decision, remarking a day later that, "Cuba does not need the United States, it does not need Europe. ... What a wonderful thing to be able to say."

No matter, the EU is holding firm to its policy of engagement, thinking in the long run it will prove more effective in influencing a democratic transition and improving human rights than the U.S. policy of isolation. Once again, it's betting on the carrot vs. the stick.

"Our objectives to promote democracy, the respect of human rights and improve the living standards of the Cuban people can be more easily attained through dialogue and cooperation," EU commission representative Sven Kuhn von Burgsdorff said in Havana. "A policy of coercion and embargo seems rather counterproductive in this context."

The strategy of engagement is a long-term investment, analysts say.

"The Europeans are looking to the future and wanting to build positive relations with the younger generation of Cuban officials who will take power when the founding generation of leaders finally passes from the scene," said William LeoGrande, dean of the school of public affairs at American University and a Cuba expert.

The EU imposed the diplomatic sanctions 18 months ago in protest over Cuba's imprisonment of 75 peaceful dissidents. European diplomats in Havana began showing their support for the political prisoners by inviting opposition leaders to embassy receptions, which enraged Cuban officials and sparked a diplomatic freeze known as the "cocktail war."

Monday's decision temporarily suspends the dissidents' invitations and restores high-level visits to Havana.

Kuhn von Burgsdorff defended the foreign ministers' decision, saying it "does not suggest by any means that we are letting the dissidents down or ignoring civil society."

Critics disagree. In the French daily Le Figaro, former Czech President Vaclav Havel wrote that "the EU is dancing to Fidel Castro's tune" and dishonoring "the noble ideals of freedom, equality and human rights that the Union espouses."

The Paris-based organization Reporters Without Borders cautioned that the EU could be seen as "caving in" to Cuba if it does not follow up by closely monitoring human rights on the island.

Opposition leader and former political prisoner Vladimiro Roca said the EU, Cuba's largest trade and investment partner, is being guided by "economic interests ... not the interests of the Cuban people, much less the opposition."

Like others, Roca said European embassy receptions were helpful in sparking conversations on human rights with a wide range of diplomats, including those from African and Asian nations, which don't generally have ties to dissidents.

European diplomats in Havana have said they will replace the National Day invitations for dissidents with periodic meetings. How, when and where these meetings will take place, however, is unclear. One European diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Cuba's Foreign Ministry has already objected to proposed meetings between the dissidents and the ambassadors.

"They [Cuban officials] don't like the public contacts so much because it's a recognition of the dissidents," the diplomat said. "It's saying these people are not mercenaries, they are not criminals, they are serious interlocutors who we have the right to talk to just like we talk to the Cuban authorities."

Roca said time would tell whether European diplomats' intentions to continue building bridges to civil society bear out.

"I analyze facts," he said. "Not words."

Vanessa Bauzá can be reached at vmbauza1@yahoo.com

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