The European Union has agreed to lift diplomatic sanctions against Cuba in the hope of encouraging democracy in the Communist state.

Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the union's external relations commissioner, said the decision was designed to encourage changes in Cuba after Raul Castro took over from his ailing brother Fidel.

The gesture was largely symbolic, as the sanctions banned high-level visits by Cuban officials - and they have been suspended since 2005. However, a summit of EU foreign ministers in Brussels called for several conditions for relations to improve further. The include the release of all political prisoners; access for Cubans to the internet; and opportunities for EU delegations to meet both opposition figures and members of the Cuban government.

"There will be very clear language also on what the Cubans still have to do ... releasing prisoners, really working on human rights questions," she said after the decision was announced in Brussels. "There will be a sort of review to see whether indeed something will have happened."

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said the lifting of sanctions in no way meant the EU was getting weak on Cuba, and said that asking for talks with Cuban officials on touchy issues like human rights, or to demand access to political dissidents was the best way to push change on the island.

Washington imposed a trade blockade of Cuba almost 50 years ago.