GSP Plus: Ambassador Riina Kionka says EU MEPs rollover move aims to avoid year-end ‘cliff edge’

Celina Ali

Islamabad: European Union Ambassador to Pakistan Dr Riina Kionka this week clarified that the EU MEPs’ decision to roll over the rules on Pakistan’s GSP Plus status has been proposed to avoid a “cliff edge” at the end of the year, is unrelated to Pakistan’s performance, and that monitoring will continue.

Ambassador Kionka made the clarification while responding to a tweet/post by Caretaker Federal Minister for Commerce & Industries Dr Gohar Ejaz. Ejaz had posted that he was “pleased to share that the EU MEPs have decided to roll over the rules on the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) till 2027. The European Council is expected to give its final approval for the extension of the current Scheme soon.”

Saying that he was taking “this opportunity to reiterate Pakistan’s commitments under the Scheme for the betterment of all”, the minister had posted that he wished to “thank the EU Parliament for living up to its commitment to facilitate trade from developing countries.”

The EU ambassador reposted Dr Gohar Ejaz’s statement by adding a clarification: “To clarify: This rollover is proposed so as to avoid a cliff edge at the end of 2023. It is unrelated to [Pakistan’s] performance or that of any other beneficiary country. EU member states will decide soon. Monitoring will continue.”

Ambassador Kionka also posted, in another tweet/post on X (formerly Twitter), that “together with TeamEurope, I wholeheartedly support the commitment of Minister Gohar Ejaz and the government of Pakistan to fully meet GSP+ obligations.”

According to the EU Parliament’s press room, the EU “MEPs extended the existing rules aimed at reducing or eliminating import duties on products entering the EU market from over 60 developing countries until 2027.”

Earlier in July, the EU ambassador had issued a video statement regarding the extension of Pakistan’s GSP Plus status, saying then that “the proposed extension of the current regulation for GSP Plus in effect means no change for Pakistan at the moment, and the country enjoys the same trade preferences and access to the European market [as before].”

She had in her previous statement in July added that Pakistan “has the same obligations as before in terms of implementing the 27 international human rights conventions” and that the EU will “continue to monitor progress and report to the European Parliament”.