The U.S. government is not exactly toasting Cuba Libres over news that the European Union has decided to lift diplomatic sanctions:

“We’re disappointed,” said Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for the National Security Council. “We think the Castros need to take a number of steps to improve the human rights conditions for ordinary Cubans before any sanctions are lifted.”

But! The move is largely symbolic:

But the move is largely symbolic. [Ed. note: Told you.] The sanctions banned high-level visits to EU nations by Cuban officials in 2003, after Fidel Castro’s government arrested dozens of dissidents. They effectively fell out of force in 2005, when the EU tried — unsuccessfully — to repair relations with Havana.

But EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner felt it was time to nudge Cuba now that Raul Castro, Fidel’s brother, has taken over (more…) as head of government. She said Europe will still impose tough conditions on re-establishing ties.

The E.U. hopes the move will encourage Cuba to move, in conga formation, towards more democratic changes:

In return for sanction-free relations, the EU expects Cuba to release all political prisoners, allow ordinary Cubans access to the Internet, and give EU delegations to Cuba the freedom to meet dissidents as well as government officials. So far Cuba has resisted such reforms.

“We haven’t softened our approach,” said Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, according to the Associated Press. “It’s a repressive regime. …Now we are very explicit on what we want. We want democratic changes.”

What do you think? Cuba’s been making a lot of moves toward easing up on the whole “the government controls your entire life” sort of thing, but was now the right time for the E.U. to lift sanctions?

EU Ends Diplomatic Sanctions on Cuba [Spiegel]