The Centre for European Studies is pleased to invite all faculty members and students of the University community to its Second Lecture Series for the year 2017.
This lecture is being organized in partnership with the German Embassy in Ghana under the theme: European Union and Africa Union: A Comparative Study and Lessons for the Africa Union. The schedule is as follows:
Speaker: Dr. Juliana Asante, Research Fellow, LECIAD
Date: Tuesday, 25th April, 2017
Time: 3pm
Venue: Kofi Drah Conference Hall, Department of Political Science, UG
Chairperson: Prof. Henrietta Mensah Bonsu
Formed in the early 1950s with six founding countries, the European Union (EU) has grown in terms of membership and size. Indeed, the EU today serves as a powerful politico-economic union of close to thirty member states in Europe. It has developed several initiatives and interventions that have strengthened the Union as a powerful bloc in world politics. These, inter alia, include an internal single market through a standardized system of laws that apply in all member states, and policies aimed at ensuring free movement of people, goods, services and capital within the internal market.
Similarly, the African Union (AU) is a continental Union of over fifty African countries formed in 2001 to replace the Organization of African Unity (OAU). The AU has several objectives, notable among them include achieving greater unity and solidarity among African countries; promoting sustainable development at the socio-economic and cultural levels; and advancing the development of the continent through research.
Even though the AU seems to have been modeled along the lines of the EU, the two bodies appear asymmetrical. What are the similarities and differences between the two? Why is one more powerful than the other? How can the weaker one be strengthened as a powerful bloc? These and other thought-provoking questions would be answered as part of discussions and contributions expected to ensue after the lecture.
The event is expected to be attended by over 300 participants comprising students and faculty of the University of Ghana, heads and country representatives of the European Union in Ghana, AU officials, civil society, policy makers, and media practitioners.
We hope all would bring their rich experiences to bear on the discussions that would ensue after the lecture.