Courtesy The Island

The European Union (EU) “has no position on any on-going court case in Sri Lanka,” the EU delegation in Colombo said on Friday in a three-paragraph press release.

This was a clear reference to a statement made in parliament by Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe who said that GSP+ can be rescued if Gen. Sarath Fonseka is released.

The EU press release confirmed that a Sri Lanka government delegation will visit the European CommissionƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s (EC) headquarters in Brussels later this month.

Discussions between this delegation comprising the Secretaries to the Ministries of Finance, External Affairs, Justice and the Attorney-General will be held in Brussels on May 20 and 21 and will, according to the news release, “address issues highlighted in the European CommissionƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s final report on Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s eligibility for GSP+ issued in October 2009.”

“This latest round of discussions is part of the continuing dialogue between the parties on these issues,” the release said.

The EU delegation here said it would like to underline that “no list of conditions has been communicated to the government” and the delegation emphasized that any review of the ECƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s recommendations on GSP+ “is not dependent on any single measure.”

“Moreover the Delegation wishes to underline the EU’s respect for the judicial process of Sri Lanka and has no position on any ongoing court case in Sri Lanka. It would therefore be inappropriate for the Delegation to express a view on any such judicial proceedings.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢