EU drops plans to punish China over Hong Kong electoral reform
- European Union withdraws draft text from agenda for Foreign Affairs Council meeting after failing to gain support from all 27 member states
- Hungary believed to have opposed measures, which included the suspension of extradition treaties between 10 EU member states and China
The EU had planned to issue a statement on Hong Kong at Monday’s Foreign Affairs Council, the monthly meeting of its 27 foreign ministers.
But the draft text was withdrawn from the agenda of a planning meeting held on Friday, signalling there was no agreement and meaning they cannot be adopted on Monday, according to two people familiar with the matter.
A senior EU official said that the issue could be expected to be revisited in May for that month’s council, saying it was “high on our agenda, different working groups are discussing different possibilities for EU policy in the future, and pretty soon we will come up with some policy or intentions”.
“It is a source of deep concern for the European Union that the status of Hong Kong will change, we attach enormous importance to the one country, two systems, and we think that Hong Kong is a litmus test for Chinese policy,” the person said.
02:34
China’s top legislative body passes sweeping Hong Kong electoral reforms
