Srilanka, May 8 -- The European Union (EU) has reiterated the urgency for Sri Lanka to align its domestic laws with the international human rights and labour conventions, if it is to continue reaping the benefits of preferential access to the EU market, under the GSP+ trade scheme.

The reminder came in a joint statement issued after the eighth meeting of the Working Group on Governance, Rule of Law and Human Rights, under the EU-Sri Lanka Joint Commission.

Sri Lanka, which regained the GSP+ status in 2017, after a seven-year suspension over wartime rights concerns, has since ratified all 27 core international conventions that underpin the scheme spanning human rights, labour standards, environmental protection and governance.

In 2023...