Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy again for his insightful and detailed presentation of the case. I was about to say earlier that the focus of the EU's approach with Sri Lanka has been the generalised scheme of preferences plus arrangement, which aims to support Sri Lanka's economic development through increased trade with the EU, as well as by diversifying its exports and attracting investment. That system and the benefits of it are granted on the condition that Sri Lanka implements 27 international conventions on human rights, labour conditions, protection of the environment and good governance.

The EU is Sri Lanka's third most important trading partner and its second most important export destination, with a 13.6% share of Sri Lanka's overall trade. I will work with and talk to Josep Borrell about the broader issue of trafficking, smuggling and the pressure on citizens to see what the EU can do on the Common Security and Defence Policy side and in humanitarian interventions to see what we can do to curtail the work of the traffickers.

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