No EU agreement to normalise relations with Cuba

(BRUSSELS) - EU member states have failed to agree to normalise ties with Cuba, opting instead to extend an suspension of sanctions on the communist Caribbean island, European diplomats said Thursday.

A "large number" of the 27 member states, led by Spain which normalised its relations with Havana in April, are in favour of definitively dropping the sanctions which were introduced in 2003 but suspended two years later.

But objections continue to be voiced, notably from Britain, the Czech Republic and Sweden which believe normalisation should not take place without democratic reforms in Cuba, the diplomats said.

Therefore a proposal put forward by the German EU presidency on Wednesday to normalise ties was rejected at a meeting of EU diplomats ahead of a foreign ministers' meeting in Luxembourg on Monday, they added.

The European Union imposed political and diplomatic sanctions on Cuba after Fidel Castro's regime sentenced 75 dissidents to lengthy prison terms and executed three young Cubans who had tried to flee to the United States by boat.

The sanctions -- which notably included restrictions on bilateral government visits -- were suspended in January 2005 at Spain's initiative, following the release of several dissidents.