Luxembourg - The European Union's relations with Cuba became the first victim Monday of the crisis caused by Ireland's rejection of the Lisbon treaty, as EU foreign ministers took the question off the table at a meeting in Luxembourg. Ahead of the regular monthly meeting, the ministers had been scheduled to debate lifting the current EU sanctions against Cuba given recent political changes in the Caribbean state.
But Monday's talks on Cuba were derailed by last Thursday's rejection by Irish voters of the Lisbon Treaty. The treaty is intended to speed up the EU's decision-making process and give it a higher international profile, but the Irish no could make it impossible for it to come into effect, as it has to be approved by every EU state.
On Monday ministers agreed to a German proposal to postpone their debate on Cuba until a meeting on Thursday. Diplomats said that the decision was taken to free up time to debate the Irish vote.
However, one of the key opponents to lifting the sanctions against Cuba is the Czech Republic, which maintains that they should stay in place until Cuba improves its human-rights record.
Moreover, the Czech Republic is one of eight EU states which have not yet ratified the Lisbon Treaty, and its president Vaclav Klaus, an outspoken Eurosceptic, has already said that the Irish vote means that the treaty is "finished."
Klaus' comments raised fears across Europe that Czech Eurosceptics might call for the treaty not to be ratified there - making it much harder for other EU states to come to a deal with Ireland.
Observers speculate that the postponement over Cuba might also have been intended to avoid a clash between the Czechs and other EU states at a sensitive time.
