The leader of the Pivithiru Hela Urumaya, Udaya Gammanpila, said the EU's GSP+ trade concessions "are not a must", after it emerged that the EU imposed strict conditions on its re-granting to Sri Lanka.
Mr Gammanpila, who came third in Colombo in the general election, said the GSP plus scheme was first granted to Sri Lanka in 2004 and lost in 2010.
“Before 2004, we didn’t have a GSP plus scheme", he said, urging the government not to pawn the name of the country in order to regain the concessions, according to Ada Derana.
It was reported on Sunday that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was 'furious', over the conditions the EU placed on regaining GSP+, which included return of land and the release of political detainees.
Ranil 'furious' over GSP plus conditions - Sunday Times (08 May 2016)
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