The EU has criticised the latest editorial by one of Sri Lanka's largest English-language papers, the Sunday Times, accusing it of trying to exploit the terrorist attacks in Brussels for "nationalist raging".

In a tweet, the EU delegation to Sri Lanka and the Maldives said it was "very disappointed", after the publication of the editorial, which accused western powers of double standards and duplicity on terrorism.

The editorial by the paper, which is seen as close to the ruling UNP, linked the ISIS attacks to the EU's suspension of GSP+ trade tariffs over Sri Lanka's human rights record, and the ban on fisheries imports.

"There was a time when Sri Lankan Intelligence had a thing or two to learn from the West. It is now time, for the West to swallow their pride and learn a trick or two from here," the editorial said.

"These infamous double standards of the big powers extend to the economic arena aslo, and it is the West that exploits the issue best — or worst, depending on how one looks at it. Embargoes, and trade sanctions are modern weapons of war to cow down nations not toeing their line. In Sri Lanka, the European Union’s (EU) suspension of the GSP plus preferential tariffs system and the ban on fish imports are textbook cases of duplicity."

"It is time they turned the searchlight inward and found out where they have gone wrong. It is their inconsistency in handling the ‘scourge of terrorism’."