Brussels, 16/03/2010 (Agence Europe) - In Brussels on Monday 15 March, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Romesh Jayasinghe met Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht and held a preliminary exchange of views with European Commission experts on the EU decision of 15 February temporarily to suspend Sri Lanka from the GSP+, the special scheme to promote good governance and sustainable development put in place to help the most vulnerable developing countries as part of the EU's generalised system of preferences (GSP). This is a decision that Sri Lanka can still have reversed if it takes significant steps to remedy the serious failings in observance of three UN human rights conventions - the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Convention Against Torture (CAT) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - revealed by the investigation carried out by the European Commission between October 2008 and 2009. “Before (GSP+ suspension) takes effect on 15 August 2010, the Commission remains committed to working with Sri Lanka to see whether the conditions for a reversal of such a decision are in place as a result of significant improvements on the effective implementation of the human rights conventions at issue. The Sri Lankans and the EU counterparts agreed to meet again,” said De Gucht's spokesman John Clancy in a press release. Following the Commission investigation, which concluded that Sri Lanka had not met its commitments on sustainable development and good governance, in particular with regard to human rights, as part of the GSP+, EU member states decided on 15 February to suspend Sri Lanka's preferential access to the Community market for six months. If the hoped-for progress is not made by Sri Lankan authorities by mid-August, the country will be temporarily suspended from the GSP+. Its exports will thereafter, however, be part of the normal GSP, under the terms of Regulation 732/08/EC. The normal GSP guarantees preferential access to the Community market for developing countries. The GSP+ provides further customs tariff reductions to 15 developing countries, including Sri Lanka, which are committed to sustainable development and good governance, including human rights and working standards, and which have ratified and are implementing 27 international conventions in these areas. (E.H./transl.rt)