22/01/2024 (Agence Europe) – Work is underway in the European Parliament to prepare the ratification (consent procedure) of the Samoa Agreement between the EU and the 79 member countries of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), which has been provisionally in force since January. On Wednesday 24 January, the European Parliament’s Committee on Development (DEVE) will debate a draft report highlighting the timeliness of this new Partnership Agreement as a “framework for cooperation that goes beyond traditional development cooperation”, with tailor-made regional protocols. It recommends consent. The parliamentary committee vote is scheduled for February or March. The Committee on International Trade (INTA), which gave its opinion, welcomes the general objective, but considers that the European Parliament should have given its approval before the provisional application. The draft report: https://aeur.eu/f/aij; the opinion of the INTA Committee: https://aeur.eu/f/aio (AN)