Fox Market Wire. March 27, 2000. 11.40 a.m. ET (1640 GMT)

LISBON, Portugal — A U.S. Senate panel's decision to allow the sale of food and medicine to Cuba doesn't go far enough, Portugal's Foreign Minister said Monday.

"It's a small step in the right direction,'' said Jaime Gama, whose country currently holds the European Union presidency. "The government's and the European Union's position is that the right solution would be an end to the embargo on Cuba.''

The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, headed by Sen. Jesse Helms, voted Thursday to license sales of food and medicine so long as they are not subsidized by the Agriculture Department. The committee's action could prompt a new debate in the Senate on whether to ease the 40-year-old embargo.

Gama's comments came after talks with Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage over boosting trade ties between the 15-nation EU and Cuba -- an issue to be further discussed in April when an EU delegation travels to Havana.

Lage also discussed his country's human rights record with Gama, saying the EU and Cuba had differing views because of "a campaign of misinformation and slander by other countries.''

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