BRUSSELS — The European Commission and Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States are expected to reach a political agreement on their new partnership this Thursday, sources close to the negotiations told Devex.
Substantial progress came at technical-level meetings in mid-November, allowing chief negotiators Robert Dussey, the Togolese foreign minister, and Jutta Urpilainen, the European Union commissioner responsible for development policy, to schedule a virtual meeting for Thursday.
A senior OACPS official told Devex Monday that “there is not likely to be any issue left unresolved” by the time the chief negotiators meet. A commission spokesperson said, “We hope and expect that both Chief Negotiators Urpilainen and Dussey will be able to endorse the final compromise package, which will allow [the parties] to conclude the negotiations on the text of the future agreement.”