KARACHI: The European Union Parliament will hold a meeting on 11th of December to discuss the granting of GSP Plus status to Pakistan. To decide the vote, the EU Parliament will meet on December 15 and 16.
It is expected that the grant of GSP Plus status would be in Pakistan’s favor as the parliamentary majority of the major EU countries would help secure the vote, sources said.
Currently, 12 countries have opposed the grant of GSP Plus status to Pakistan, such as France, Portugal, Bulgaria, Poland and Croatia, which have a total EU parliament seat strength of 23 percent, they added. While major countries which are in favor of granting the status include Germany, UK, Spain, Netherlands and Italy, which have parliamentary seat strength of 42 percent.
The rest of the countries have a smaller representation in the EU parliament and do not have the strength to tilt the majority against the grant of the status to Pakistan. Pakistan had previously been granted the GSP Plus status during Pervez Musharraf’s era for a period of three years.
