Just a day before the ministers of the European Union members gather for a two-day meeting, the Chinese high level officials warned them to mind their own business.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Qin Gang emphasized the fact that the Tibet issue is a Chinese internal affair and advised the European Union not to interfere. According to Qin, the Tibetans and the Dalai Lama are nothing but common “violent criminals” which the state authorities must deal with, just as Europe does with the criminals on its territory.

Beijing said through its spokes person that it hopes the countries of the EU will not make the mistake of sending "erroneous messages" to the Dalai Lama, Qin said during the news conference.

"I believe there are criminals, especially violent criminals, in the European countries. How do the policemen handle these cases in Europe? You can think yourself, so I hope that Europe will not adopt a double standard in this regard," Qin said.

EU foreign ministers will gather for a two-day meeting on Friday in Slovenia, the country which currently holds the Union’s rotating presidency. Several officials from the European Union already made statements regarding the Lhasa protests which turned violent. Most of them called on China to show restraint.

China’s fears of a possible boycott of the Beijing Olympic Games in August over human rights breaches in Tibet were ruled out by the European Union. Nevertheless, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose office has close ties with the Dalai Lama, said Tuesday that the opening ceremony might be the subject of a boycott.

The other big countries of the EU, such as Germany and Great Britain, condemned Beijing for the crackdown on the Tibetan protesters.

The Lhasa protests which turned violent sent a shock wave all over the world and many now fear that the road of the Olympic torch relay, which will be carried through 20 countries before the Beijing Olympics, will be more difficult as it could trigger more protests against China-Tibet issue.

Beijing refused to meet with the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader, despite international pressure to do so. The Chinese Government argued that the Dalai Lama is a "separatist" and he’s behind the protests that spread in Tibet and throughout the world.