The EU agreed in principle late Thursday to ban the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as a "terrorist" group, possibly as early as this week, diplomats said.
The move is "shocking and surprising," S. P. Thamilselvan, 39, the soft-spoken head of the Tigers' political office, told AFP.
"We consider that this move on the part of the EU will push the peace process, on which the Tamil people are banking their hopes, into a very critical juncture," Thamilselvan said in this northern town, which serves as the "capital" of rebel-held territory.
"This is only going to encourage the extremist-thinking elements in the south," he said.
The United States banned the LTTE in 1997, five years after India outlawed the group.
Canada declared the Tigers "terrorists" last month.
Escalating violence since December has left a 2002 ceasefire between government troops and the guerrillas in force only on paper.
More than 200 people died in April, the bloodiest month in four years.
Thamilselva