EU team in Pakistan to check progress on conventions

ISLAMABAD: The European Union’s (EU) Generalized System of Preferences plus (GSP +) Monitoring Mission has arrived in Pakistan to analyse the actions of the government on its 27 conventions, a perquisite to qualify for continuation of 'GSP Plus' status.

The mission is slated to judge the progress made on implementation of 27 International Conventions concerning GSP+ from 2020 onwards with the stakeholders on human rights, labour rights, environment, and good governance.

To make the case for an extension in the GSP plus status stronger, the Attorney General for Pakistan, the Convener of TIC (Treaty Implementation Cell), met with all the concerned officials. The European Commission had published the legislation for the GSP scheme (2024- 34) on September 22, 2021.

In 2021, the EU on extending the GSP plus status for Pakistan, added six new conventions, while voicing concerns about the situation of human rights, press freedom, death penalty and child labour related problems.

After 2022, the EU will reveal some new criteria to qualify for the GSP plus status.

The Federal Cabinet on Tuesday was given a detailed presentation on unresolved GSP+ related issues and prospects for a new GSP scheme in 2023.

After getting the status Pakistan will have to fulfill the requirements of 5 more conventions. The EU passed the resolution with a majority to review the GSP plus status for Pakistan.

According to the commerce ministry the Federal Minister for Commerce and Investment, Syed Naveed Qamar, visited Brussels on May 22-23, 2022 and held meetings with key Members of the European Parliament, senior officials at the European Commission and Secretary of State for the Brussels region.

In his meetings with the EU officials, Qamar highlighted that the GSP Plus was an excellent template and a success story of mutually beneficial cooperation, as Pakistan’s export to the EU increased by 86 percent and EU’s exports to Pakistan grew by 69 percent, since inception of the scheme in 2014.

He expressed the hope that the new GSP Plus regulation would continue to focus on its central tenets of supporting sustainable development, poverty alleviation and good governance in the beneficiary countries.