The European Union will consider all options to protect their interests after the decision of the United States to allow its citizens to file lawsuits against foreign companies operating in Cuba.

“The EU will consider all options at its disposal to protect its legitimate interests, including in relation to its WTO rights and through the use of the EU Blocking Statute,” EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said in a joint statement.

The EU warned that it could reopen the World Trade Organization case on this issue.

The blocking statute allows companies from EU countries to receive compensation for losses they have suffered deriving from the application of the listed US sanctions. The Statute also recognizes invalid any decisions of foreign courts made in pursuance of sanctions on the territory of the EU . It also prohibits EU citizens to comply with US sanctions, unless this is specifically approved by the European Commission, which will be issued in cases where non-compliance with sanctions can seriously harm the interests of EU companies or the interests of the Union.

Earlier it was reported that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the administration lifts a long-standing ban on US citizens to sue foreign companies using property that was nationalized by the Cuban government after Fidel Castro’s revolution in 1959.