A last-gasp attempt to block Sri Lanka’s request for a resumption of GSP+ concessions may succeed when the European Parliament considers a new resolution on Thursday April 27, informed sources said on Tuesday.
Last week, on April 20, the European Parliament Group (EUG) gave notice of a resolution opposing GSP + concessions. According to last week’s Sunday Times, if the resolution is backed by 373 members, the motion is carried, and the GSP + concessions would then be rejected. The resolution is to be taken up on Thursday.
According to two EU parliamentarians - Anne Marie Mineur (Netherlands) and Lola Sanchez (Spain) who were part of a fact-finding mission earlier this month on the GSP+ request, the European Parliament is unlikely to debate the resolution and only call for a vote which is likely to succeed.
The two MPs while expressing concerns over Sri Lanka’s failure to fulfill some conditions pertaining to human rights and blocking unions in the free trade zones, had expressed the hope that concessions would be approved since the government had promised that 50 per cent of the benefit from GSP+ would be used for worker welfare. They have told local trade unions that they had hoped a debate would ensue where some pressure would be exerted to approve GSP+ for Sri Lanka. However without a debate, it is anybody’s guess as to which way the vote will go, they say. - ENDS -
A Thai woman walking topless in Arugam Bay town has been arrested by the Police.
The Cabinet has approved a proposal for Sri Lankans overseas to apply for their passports through an online system via the Lankan diplomatic missions.
Ajith Gallage, the owner of a Bird Park in Nagarawawa, Hambantota, has been remanded over allegations of concealing illegally imported motorcycles, in a warehouse owned by him.
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