The European Union Commission’s proposal recommending Sri Lanka for GSP plus trade concessions will be presented in the EU parliament tomorrow before its 28 members, Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister Dr. Harsha de Silva told the Sunday Observer.
He said that the next phase is to receive approval from all EU member states and the EU parliament to restore the trade concessions. It will take two to four months.
The process, thereafter, will see the recommendation of the EC going to each of the EU member states to be approved by their own parliaments before it is approved by the EU Council and EU Parliament in Brussels.
After the Unity government assumed office in 2015, one of the first priorities of the government was to win back the GSP plus concessions that provided over 1,200 goods duty free accesss to the EU market. The EU is Sri Lanka’s biggest export market accounting for 36% of its total annual exports.
The Government formally applied for the trade concessions in June last year setting off an intense evaluation process on Good governance and human rights indicators, with a technical team arriving here last year to monitor the compliance.
Finally on Janaury 11, 2017 the executive body of the EU, the EU Commission concluded that ‘Sri Lanka meets the eligibility criteria of Article 9(1) of the GSP Regulation’.
Foreign Ministry sources said once the EC approves the application it is unlikely that the application will be tuned down by the EU parliament.
National Co-existence, Dialogue and Official Languages Minister Mano Ganesan said that he was glad the EU has proposed to restore the GSP plus concessions to our country.
“We are glad at the progress that has been made and that the recommendations are made in our favour.” He said there were outstanding issues the government is trying to fulfill such as replacing the PTA with an alternative counter terrorism law that is currently being discussed at the cabinet stage. We have passed the OMP, but the office has not yet been established. These are the pre-requisites that we need to adhere to,” the Minister said.
“We will have to replace the PTA with the counter terrorism act which is currently in discussion at Cabinet stage. But we have passed the OMP, but the office has not yet been established. Upholding Geneva conventions and the Covenant of Civil and Political rights. These are some of the conditions. The standing currently is that it will made available,” he said.