UNILATERAL ACTION TAKEN

Ignoring the EU freeze on diplomatic relations, France invited members of the Cuban government to Bastille Day celebrations:

The French embassy in Cuba invited the communist officials in order to "open frank and constructive dialogue, which is indispensable to understanding and progress", said French ambassador to Havana Marie-France Pagnier, according to AFP.

The French invitation to Cuban officials was the first of its kind in the two years since the EU froze diplomatic contacts with Havana.

The bloc made the move in June 2003, after 75 dissidents, including 26 independent journalists, were arrested and sentenced to up to 28 years in prison. Only 14 of them have been released since.

"I am sad", said Portugal's ambassador to Cuba, Mario Rodino de Matos.

"It is a success for France, but I would have preferred that the European Union keep a unified position", he added.

A non-aggression pact with Iran could be next on the agenda.