To paraphrase the original text... though the 'global release' doesn't have a date or details yet, its expected to happen sometime during this year.
Most likely, the NA version would just become a 'global version' and we would all be playing on the same servers given that the NA version has several global ratings, including PEGI and ACB (Australian Classification Board), as well as a "Spoken Language" option to (separate from voice and text language) that displays what language you speak to other players (its currently Japanese and English only though).
Since Microsoft accounts are region free, you would still be playing with the same data and with the only major difference being not needing to change regions to buy AC. If we are lucky, we get some EU hosted ships as an option and get Ship Transfers as an option finally.