The European Union (EU) urges Sri Lanka to lift the import restrictions preventing many European products from entering its market.
At the 25th Session of the Sri Lanka - EU Joint Commission, the EU welcomed Sri Lanka’s intention to present a plan for the lifting of the import restrictions by June 2023.
At the session, the EU presented the new EU GSP Regulation, which is expected to enter into force on 1 January 2024, for the next 10-year cycle. The EU informed that the report of the last EU GSP+ monitoring cycle 2020-2022 is expected to be released in the coming months.
On the new Anti-Terrorism Bill, Sri Lanka informed that the Ministry of Justice was seeking the observations of the public and other stakeholders with a view to amending the Gazetted Bill before submitting it to Parliament.
Sri Lanka’s ongoing consultation process with all relevant stakeholders is aimed at adopting a legislation in line with international standards, which could soon replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). The EU appreciated the commitment of Sri Lanka to further release PTA detainees and urged Sri Lanka to refrain from using the PTA.