The European Commission’s decision to grant special trade preferences to some of the world's worst violators of trade union rights shows serious incoherence in the EU's stated policy of using positive incentives to get its trading partners to respect workers' rights, according to the ICFTU, the WCL and the ETUC.

"Countries such as Colombia, Georgia, Moldova, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Guatemala are notorious for violations of basic workers' rights, yet they seem to have been judged by the European Commission to be in full compliance with international standards," said ICFTU general secretary Guy Ryder.