EU Member of Parliament, Robert Evans told reporters on Friday in Colombo that in his personal view, “it is doubtful whether Sri Lanka would be granted GSP+, at the moment.”

Evans, the leader of a delegation from the European Parliament that visited Sri Lanka from July 20 – 25, said that at this point it was “debatable” whether Sri Lanka would be allowed to retain the GSP+ scheme. However, he added that the Sri Lankan government still had time to address the situation.

Sri Lanka needs to apply for GSP+ extension by October 31. However, Evans said the European Parliament did not have the authority to extend the GSP+ for Sri Lanka. “The European Parliament is consulted, but only consulted,” said Evans. “The government (Sri Lankan) knows that we, as Members of Parliament can’t swing anything in their favour,” he said.

Sri Lanka must send in an application for GSP+ extension to the European Commission (EC) in Brussels. The EC will evaluate the application and put it before the European Council for a decision. The Council decision will then be put before the European Parliament.

Sri Lanka is expected to show effective implementation of 27 international conventions on labour rights, environmental standards and human rights to have the GSP+ scheme extended from 2009 to 2011.