The draft national security law still contains provisions that give cause for concern despite positive changes made since the consultation document was first released, the European Union told the Hong Kong government.
The concerns were similar to those expressed by British Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell earlier this week and prompted the Security Bureau to issue a defence of the proposed legislation based on Article 23 of the Basic Law.
The Greek presidency's statement on behalf of the European Union said concerns remained about the possibility of extra-territoriality being applied to sedition, subversion and secession offences. Sedition was still defined too broadly and the proposed mechanism to outlaw groups that have been banned on the mainland on national security grounds could be dangerous.
'This would blur the line between the Hong Kong and mainland legal systems and could undermine Hong Kong's autonomy,' the statement said.
'Handling of this legislation will be considered an important test for the 'one country, two systems' principle.'
Britain shared the concern, warning that it was vital Hong Kong's legal autonomy was not undermined in any way by the legislation.