With a multi-ethnic and multi-religious population of 22 million, Sri Lanka is a country strategically located in South Asia at the crossroads of major shipping routes in the Indo-Pacific region. This lower middle-income country has undergone a severe economic crisis, whose consequences have been exacerbated by its economic and monetary policies, not to mention the 2019 terrorist attacks and the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, Sri Lanka defaulted, and widespread popular protests prompted the resignation of the prime minister followed by the president, posts held by the Rajapaksa brothers. Ranil Wickremesinghe took over as president. The country has received assistance from the International Monetary Fund and negotiated a key debt restructuring deal in June 2024. India and China are competing to expand their influence in the country because of its geo-strategic location in the Indo-Pacific. The 99-year lease of Hambantota port to China in 2017, feeding the debt-trap narrative, has increased Indian and United States (US) concerns. Colombo boasts a nonaligned foreign policy, and has remained neutral on the war in Ukraine. European Union–Sri Lanka relations are based on a comprehensive cooperation agreement on partnership and development, which entered into force in 1995. Sri Lanka benefits from enhanced access to the European Union (EU) market under the generalised system of preferences plus, of which it is the third-largest beneficiary. The European Parliament – like other international stakeholders – has underlined the importance of a national reconciliation process given the unaddressed legacy of the 1983–2009 civil war against the Tamil insurgency. Parliament has also expressed concern over Sri Lanka's continuous application of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, systematically used for arbitrary arrests. Against this backdrop, Sri Lanka's presidential elections will take place on 21 September 2024. The EU has deployed an election observation mission, with MEP Nacho Sánchez Amor (S&D, Spain) as Chief Observer.
Authors
- Pages
- 6
- Published in
- Belgium
Table of Contents
- Summary 1
- Introduction 2
- Institutions and parties 2
- Main political parties 2
- Figure 1 – Map of Sri Lanka 2
- Economy 3
- Foreign relations 3
- Figure 2 – Parliament's composition 3
- Relations with the EU 4
- The European Parliament and Sri Lanka 5
- Recent history 5
- Unaddressed legacy of the 1983-2009 civil war against the Tamil insurgency 5
- Human rights in Sri Lanka 5
- 2024 presidential elections 6
