13/12/2023 (Agence Europe) – On Wednesday 13 December, the European Union and Chile signed officially the Advanced Framework Agreement (AFA) and the Interim Trade Agreement (ITA), which together constitute an updated version of the Association Agreement currently in force between the two parties. Negotiations were finalised in December 2022 and the EU Council gave the go-ahead for ratification on 5 December (see EUROPE 13307/24). The European Commissioner for Trade, Valdis Dombrovskis, hailed the “privileged partnership” between the EU and Chile, whose signing of this agreement “takes this close relationship to a whole new level”. For the EU, these two agreements should make it possible to “reduce the risks associated with supply chains, guarantee a sustainable supply of essential raw materials and combat climate change”. (IS)