Cambodia's Hun Sen eases pressure on unions, as EU sanctions threat looms

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen arrives at the ASEM leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium October 19, 2018. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen told his ministers to ease pressure on labour union leaders on Wednesday, after threats by the European Union to remove the Southeast Asian country's duty-free trading access.

The EU began a formal procedure last month to strip Cambodia of its "Everything but Arms (EBA)" initiative, following a July general election that returned Hun Sen to power after 33 years in office and gave his party all parliamentary seats.