European Union

The European Union (EU) and its Member States are working with partners around the world to tackle the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and mitigate the effects of the crisis. The EU’s response follows a ‘Team Europe’ approach, aimed at saving lives by providing quick and targeted support. This includes improving the preparedness for and […]

Statement by the Spokesperson on the situation in Sri Lanka. Bruxelles, 29/10/2018 .   The sudden deterioration of the situation in Sri Lanka over the weekend puts the country at risk of instability and unrest. Along with other key international partners of Sri Lanka, the Ambassador of the European Union met today with the President […]

Issuing a statement on the judgement by the European Court of Justice annulling measures against the LTTE , the European Union says that it continues to consider the LTTE as a terrorist organisation and the EU’s restrictive measures against the LTTE remain in force. The full text of the statement follows: Statement of the European […]

Image: Free Trade Zone workers in Sri Lanka: Will GSP plus benefits reach them? Issuing a press release on providing GSP plus trade concessions to Sri Lanka the European Union says that ” it is also a vote of confidence from the European Union that the Sri Lankan Government will maintain the progress it has […]

Image: Ambassador Tung-Lai Margue. European Union Ambassador to Sri Lanka  Tung-Lai Margue’s  has reaffirmed the reinstatement of GSP Plus to Sri Lanka in his message for Europe Day. The excerpt of his message says that ” two years ago, after the election of a government with a commitment and vision to make fundamental reforms, Sri Lanka and the European Union […]

Image: Emmanuel Macron: new French president. Photograph: Denis Charlet/AFP/Getty Images. Any other result would have been a European catastrophe and, for once, thank goodness, the opinion polls got it right. Emmanuel Macron has swept Marine Le Pen aside to become France’s next president. Mr Macron won by an even wider margin than the polls have consistently […]

DRI. The Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) of the European Union (EU) is a trade arrangement that allows developing countries to pay less or no duties on their exports to the EU. The EU offers GSP programmes to help vulnerable countries to reduce poverty, improve governance and foster a process of sustainable development. The Generalised […]

Image: Anne-Marie Mineur and Lola Sánchez Caldentey meeting with local TU leaders; Credit www.guengl.eu. Issuing a statement the Fact Finding Mission including Members of the European Parliament Anne-Marie Mineur and Lola Sánchez Caldentey that visited Sri Lanka has emphasised that GSP plus concessions will be granted to Sri Lanka only  that the benefit goes also […]

Image: Nikos Zaimis in Sri Lanka (Newsfirst photo) Nikos Zaimis, Adviser to the European Commission, Directorate General for Trade in Brussels, Belgium has indirectly confirmed that the GSP + trade concessions will be reinstated to Sri Lanka in few months time. He has said  that “The restoration of the GSP+ trade concession by the European […]

The European Commission today proposed that a significant part of the remaining import duties on Sri Lankan products should be removed by the European Union in exchange for the country’s commitment to ratify and effectively implement 27 international conventions on human rights, labour conditions, protection of the environment and good governance. These one-way trade preferences […]

(Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe shakes hands with High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, Federica Mogherini, in Brussels) The European Union (EU) has nearly doubled its development assistance to Sri Lanka to € 210 million (approximately Rs. 34 billion) for the period until 2020, compared to […]

(European Union Charge d’Affaires and Head, Political, Trade and Communications, Paul Godfrey) The European Union (EU) will to call for a foreign judicial role, only if the Sri Lankan Government fails to appoint a credible truth seeking and accountability mechanism to probe allegations of war crimes and human rights abuses. In an interview with the […]