BRUSSELS: A senior official of the European Parliament (EP) urged the leaders of the EU to express in strong terms concerns over the repression and human rights violations in Tibet during their meeting with visiting Chinese president.

In a statement yesterday, MEP Thomas Mann, who is also the president of the EP’s Tibet Intergroup, urged “Council President Herman van Rompuy, Commission President Manuel Barroso and Martin Schulz, the President of the EP, to discuss intensively the question of human rights during their talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping today”.

“The Tibet Intergroup initiated a big number of official EP resolutions, plenary debates and written questions criticising the repressions and violations of human rights in China. This clear position of the EP must result in strong statements on Tibet today,” Mr Mann added.

“The visit shows the importance of the EU institutions to the Chinese government. It is the task of the leaders of these institutions to show today that Europe is willing to act strongly in the field of human rights,” he said.

He expressed hope that “a possible agreement on investments between the EU and China should include binding social and environmental clauses,” underlining that the EU leaders “should also decline the Chinese requests to lift the EU’s arms embargo as long as Chinese authorities abuse fundamental rights.”