The last time Louis Michel, the European Union's commissioner for development and humanitarian aid, was in Havana he rode a Harley Davidson down a balmy Malecon, the city's picturesque seaside drive.

That was in 2001 when he was Belgium's foreign minister. Mr Michel was back over the Easter weekend looking to mend the EU's tattered ties with the Communist-run island two years after President Fidel Castro locked up 75 pro-democracy activists. This time a motorcycle ride did not seem appropriate.