The continuing Cold War boycott of Cuba by the US came under fire on both sides of the Atlantic yesterday, underlining Washington's increasing isolation.
Canada's Prime Minister, Mr Jean Chretien, began a visit to Cuba, while EU foreign ministers put Atlantic free trade plans on ice until the US shelves attempts to penalise European companies which trade with Havana.
On his first Cuban visit, Mr Chretien spoke out in support of a policy of "constructive engagement" with Cuba, comparing it to Pope John Paul II's call last January for "the world to open itself to Cuba". Mr Chretien criticised continuing sanctions against the Castro regime, though without naming the US. "Through good times and bad, our countries have always chosen dialogue over confrontation, engagement over isolation, exchange over estrangement."
In reply, President Fidel Castro delivered a strong attack on the US for its continuing sanctions, which he described as "the most prolonged, unjust and brutal blockade in history". Mr Castro said: "No state should think it has the right to kill another people by hunger and sickness. That is genocide. It is converting a nation into a ghetto and applying a new version of the Holocaust."
The two leaders spoke at the opening of a new $40-million terminal at Havana international airport, half of which has been financed by Canada. Canadian companies are among the largest foreign investors in Cuba, and company executives from the Canadian-owned Sherritt International mining giant have been banned from entering the US in retaliation.
The two-year-old Helms-Burton law, under which the Canadians have been banned, is also at the centre of the long-running dispute between the EU, which supports trade links with Cuba, and the Clinton administration. The law has yet to be invoked against EU companies, but a number of potential test case conflicts are looming.
At their Luxembourg meeting yesterday, EU foreign ministers shelved proposals for a new free trade area agreement with the US, which has been put forward by the trade commissioner Sir Leon Brittan, until the dispute over Helms-Burton can be resolved.
EU officials are hopeful of reaching a deal in the dispute before next month's EU-US summit in London.