The European
Parliament rejected by 119 votes to 436, with 22
abstentions, a motion for a resolution tabled by the GUE/NGL group,
which sought to object to the Commission delegated
regulation of 11 January 2017 amending Annex III to Regulation
(EU) No 978/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council
applying a scheme of generalised tariff preferences.
Regulation (EU) No 978/2012 empowers the Commission to
adopt delegated acts in order to establish or amend Annex III in
order to grant a requesting country the special incentive
arrangement for sustainable development and good governance by
adding that country to the list of GSP+ beneficiary
countries.
On 11 January 2017 the Commission adopted a delegated
act to add Sri Lanka to Annex III of Regulation (EU) No
978/2012.
Members at the origin of the motion for a resolution
considered that the Sri Lankan governments reform efforts,
including those that directly relate to the GSP+ criteria, have not
yet delivered on their aim of complying with the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention against
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment, and the Convention on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination.
The motion for a resolution also focused
on:
- the conclusions of the report of the Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on Sri Lanka of
10 February 2017 according to which the measures taken by Sri Lanka
since October 2015 have been inadequate to ensure real
progress;
- the identification by the Committee of Experts of the
International Labour Organization (ILO) of shortcomings in relation
to ILO Conventions 87 and 98, the insufficiencies of the Industrial
Disputes Amendment Act 56 of 1999;
- the failure to complete the process of repealing and
replacing the Prevention of Terrorism Act;
- the suspicions that the Sri Lankan government is not
adequately tackling the culture of impunity.
In conclusion, Members stated that the existing
human rights violations in Sri Lanka raise concerns about the
appropriateness of granting GSP+ status while not enough real
progress is being made according to international
bodies.