THE European Union has summoned its ambassador to Cuba to explain himself after he signed an appeal for an end of the illegal US blockade of the island.

Alberto Navarro has been ordered to “come to Brussels to provide explanations” after putting his name to an open letter to US President Joe Biden asking him to lift sanctions and normalise relations.

Though the EU does not support the blockade, which is regularly opposed by huge majorities at the United Nations general assembly – in last vote, in 2019, 187 countries voted for it to be ended and just three, the US, Brazil and Israel, voted against – 16 MEPs have written to EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell demanding that he sack Mr Navarro over the letter, saying that he should not be independently making appeals to the government of a third country to which he is not accredited as an EU representative.