The Sri Lankan prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was reportedly furious over the conditions agreed to in order to regain the preferential trade deal, GSP plus, the Sunday Times reported.
Stating that it had obtained a document detailing 58 conditions including the repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, the devolution of power under the new constitution, the return of private land in the North and the release of detainees, the newspaper cited government sources as saying that Mr Wickremesinghe was "furious" to learn of the commitments made.
“This is a clever ploy by the EU to rope us in on so many commitments and actions that it will be holding us to for many, many years to come,” the newspaper quoted "a senior official" as saying anonymously. “After all, given our middle income status, Sri Lanka is eligible for the GSP Plus only for a few more years.”
The deadline on the commitments, which were reportedly accepted by the foreign ministry "without any form of negotiations", has already passed. The minister of foreign affairs to understood to update the list with new deadlines.
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