The argument that Ghana as a country always depends on European countries for support, according to a PhD Fellow at Maastricht University, Victor Osei-Kwadwo is not always right; he believes Ghana seeks more mutual aid instead of sole support.

At the 5th lecture series of the Centre for European Studies (CES), University of Ghana, the PhD Fellow from Maastricht University in Holland indicated that European countries Ghana enter into negotiations with more often than not also have an interest which they seek to achieve through collaborations.

“In dealing with the European Union, they have an interest that is why in the first place they agree to give us something. If they give us a scholarship, it is not for nothing. So whatever they do is not help” Osei-Kwadwo told GhanaWeb in an interview.

“You go there, you get interested in knowing their stuff and you come back and you start importing such things from there. So whatever they do, it is not help they have an interest or a reason behind whatever they do,” he added.

He said as a country we need to stay firm and know what we need from every negotiation so that we can benefit more from the European countries we negotiate with.

“If you go in as a beggar, you get peanuts but if you go in as an equal, counterpart, somebody who is in cooperation then you can have a better arrangement with them rather than going and begging” he noted.

Victor Osei-Kwadwo who spoke on the relevance of European Studies in Africa said it about time the African Union learns some useful lessons from the European Union (EU).



“We have the European Union (EU) facilitating and helping the structuring of the African Union (AU), so we have that chance of learning from the EU and being as good as they are,” he said.

“So what we need in Africa is to make sure that at least we are able to free our borders, try to facilitate the kind of trade we can have among ourselves. If the EU has been able to come up with this single currency, why can’t AU do it?” he quizzed.

Victor Osei-Kwadwo said it is not too late for the African Union to learn from the European Union.

“It has been done, it can be done and we can do it” he stressed.