Brussels, 05/07/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 5 July, the European Commission announced that given the silence from the authorities in Sri Lanka, it was unable to put a proposal on the table that would defer the Council's decision to temporarily withdraw the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP+).
The decision to withdraw the preferential tariff system GSP+ from the country had been taken by the Council of Ministers in February 2010, based on dialogue with the Sri Lankan authorities on shortcomings in their implementation of three UN human rights conventions: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention against Torture, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The EU in June offered to delay the entry into force of the Council decision made last February, by a further six months. In exchange, it asked for tangible and sustainable progress on a number of outstanding issues. “In the absence of a reply from the authorities in Colombo by 1 July, the Commission is not in a position to table a proposal with a view to delaying the Council Decision”, the Commission explained in a press release.
"We very much regret the choice of Sri Lanka not to take up an offer made in good faith and in line with the EU commitment to a global human rights agenda. We will however keep the door open for Sri Lanka to return to talks," said HR/VP Catherine Ashton in the same press release. Last week MEPs Jo Leinen (S&D, Germany) and Cristiana Muscardini (EPP, Italy) upped the ante in their statements against the temporary withdrawal of the GSP+ in Sri Lanka and explained that the country was experiencing promising development indicators (EUROPE 10171). (O.L./transl.fl)