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BRUSSELS: The European Union launched a review of the way it handles neighbouring nations on Wednesday after its policy of offering closer ties to former Soviet republics led it unwittingly into confrontation with Russia.

The EU's executive Commission also began work on a new immigration policy, which will offer expanded opportunities for legal migration as a way of reducing a wave of illegal migrants that has led to thousands of deaths in the Mediterranean sea.

The European Neighbourhood Policy was introduced in 2003 to enable the EU to develop better relations with all the countries that surround it, including former Soviet republics as well as North African and the Middle Eastern states.

However, its offer of a cooperation and free trade agreement to Ukraine in 2013 helped spark a political crisis there that toppled pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovich and led indirectly to Russia annexing Crimea and war in eastern Ukraine.

That in turn triggered Western sanctions on Russia and the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War.

Some critics accused Brussels of being naive and failing to take account Russian sensitivities over EU expansion.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said self-criticism would be part of the review. But she denied that the EU's overtures to eastern Europe were confrontational.

"It was very clear from the beginning, it is in any case very clear now, that the door of European cooperation is always open, also for Russia," she told a news conference.

An EU discussion document, drawn up by officials to help kindle the internal debate, said the EU should recognise that some countries were keener than others on close cooperation and the bloc should offer a range of alternatives.

In some cases, working with one country will require the European Union to cooperate with "the neighbours of the neighbours," it said - a clear reference to Russia.

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Ukraine crisis prompts EU to shake up stance on neighbours

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Michael amp; others v The Chief Constable of South Wales Police amp; another
This unique lecture will provide invaluable learning to anyone interested in education, ethnicity, the European Union (EU) and the European Convention on Hum. [2015] UKSC 2 UKSC 2013/0043...

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Michael & others v The Chief Constable of South Wales Police & another - Video

Mr Hammond said: We have to seize this opportunity to shake the European Union in a way that works for Britain. It went off the rails somewhere over the last 20 years and weve got to take this opportunity of reform, of renegotiation, to get it back on the rails and then crucially let the British

A strong view has emerged among member states that Britain should remain in the EU, Mr Hammond.

Mr Hammond said: "I've currently visited 23 of our partners in the European Union.

"In a nutshell, there's a very strong view that all of the member states want Britain to remain in the European Union, an understanding that can only happen if there's significant change in the European Union, and a clear willingness to engage with us - particularly on our demands for improved competitiveness in the European Union, something that all member states want to see."

Mr Hammond has previously said that Britain is lighting a fire under the European Union by holding an in-out referendum on membership.

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Philip Hammond: EU has gone 'off the rails'

HAVANA: Cuba and the European Union will meet on Wednesday (Mar 4) and Thursday for a third round of negotiations aimed at normalising ties following the historic rapprochement between Havana and Washington.

The EU and Cuba, which began talks last year after ties were suspended in 2003, had initially planned to hold a third round in December before they were called off twice.

The new talks come after France announced on Tuesday that its President Francois Hollande will visit the island May 11 in what will be the first trip by a French head of state to Cuba.

This latest round is due to tackle the sensitive human rights dossier. It is part of an effort to move past more than a decade of disagreements and sanctions after Havana launched a crackdown and jailed 75 dissidents in a direct response to calls for liberalization and greater respect for human rights.

"Our agenda is focused on cooperation with the ambition to start dealing with the two other major topics - trade and political dialogue - and set the stage for the next steps," a European diplomat said in Spanish.

"We are negotiating a framework agreement, providing a legal frameworks for dialogue, cooperation and exchanges, including on governance and human rights," he added, requesting anonymity.

The talks will be led by European chief negotiator Christian Leffler and Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Abelardo Moreno. The pair headed the two previous rounds in Brussels in August and in Havana in April.

It will be the first meeting between the politico-economic bloc and Havana since the United States and Cuba surprised the world by announcing in December that they would restore relations after half a century of enmity.

ENCOURAGING REFORMS

The EU launched its normalisation process with the communist island to encourage President Raul Castro to pursue reforms allowing for private initiatives without changing the one-party political system.

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EU, Cuba hold new round of talks to normalise ties