Accra, Feb. 12, GNA - Mr Claude Maerten, Head of European Union (EU) Delegation, has pledged support to develop strong bilateral relations between the EU and Ghana to promote peaceful economic integration among West African countries.

He said he was committed to assisting Ghana to effectively use development assistance from the EU to meet its development agenda. Mr Claude Maerten, the new Head of EU Delegation and Ambassador to Ghana, said this on Thursday when he met selected journalists to interact with them following the presentation of his letters of credence to President John Evans Atta Mills at the Castle, Osu. He praised Ghana for being the first country to complete the African Peer Review Mechanism process, conducted a peaceful and democratic transition of power in 2008, having an enviable high governance profile in Africa and a sustained economic growth in recent years. Mr Maerten said a new treaty called the Treaty of Lisbon went into force in December 2009 between the 27-member states of the EU to provide the legal framework and tools to meet the challenges of the 21st Century. He said the treaty gave a stronger foundation to the principles on which the Union acted, namely, the rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect for humanity and the principles of equality and solidarity.

Mr Maerten said under the present development programme, one billion Ghana cedis had been allocated for the period covering 2009 to 2013, which is intended to cover general budget support, the decentralization process, infrastructure, sustainable development and trade. He said the EU had committed 15 million euros for trade support enhancing projects to cover banana-producing countries including Ghana, and other projects soon to be launched by the Union. Mr Maerten described the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) as a trade policy that the EU considered as a tool to promote sustainable development.

He expressed the hope that Ghana and other West African countries would fully sign onto the EPA for sustainable development. Mr Maerten said if Ghana had failed to sign onto the voluntary partnership agreement, it would have lost 500 million euros in terms of exports to Europe and added that the country would have also lost the opportunity to create 10,000 jobs in different sectors of the food and agriculture sector.