Ghana in Search of Regional Integration Agenda 24 Introduction Regional integration generally involves a somewhat complex web of cooperation between countries within a given geographical area. It demands harmonisation of policies in sectors such as trade, investment, infrastructural development as well as fiscal and monetary policies of member states. The overall objective is essentially to ensure stability and sustainable economic growth and development within the integrating area(Lavergne 1997: 5). Basic to regional integration is Constitutionalism. This is because it guarantees the political, economic and social stability necessary for the pursuit of long-term regional projects. It also facilitates the partial transfer of state sovereignty to regional institutions and ensures that a change of leadership in member countries does not undermine the integration or agreements establishing it(Adewoye 1997: 216). Arbitrary economic policies that accompanies unconstitutional rule discourage development of long-term economic relations between countries and tend to distort the nature of entrepreneurial activity in favour of rent-seeking behaviour through smuggling and black market dealings. Equally, restricted freedom and arbitrariness at the national level are reflected at the regional level in the form of obstacles to free movement across national borders and regional trade(Ibid: 22). In West Africa, the Economic Community of West African States(ECOWAS) was formed in 1975, among other things, to encourage, foster and accelerate the economic and social development of member states in order to improve the living standards of their peoples. Beyond economic integration, Article 27 of the ECOWAS Treaty also offers a long-term objective of social integration of West Africans through the establishment of a community citizenship that may be acquired automatically by nationals of all member states. The fundamental principles of ECOWAS are: equality and interdependence of member states, inter-state cooperation, solidarity and collective self-reliance, harmonisation of policies and integration programmes. The rest are: non-aggression between member states, maintenance of peace, stability and security, peaceful settlement of disputes, promotion and protection of human rights, promotion and consolidation of democracy and accountability, economic and social justice (ECOWAS Brochure, 2002). In order to promote its regional integration agenda, ECOWAS instituted a number of protocols that span a wide spectrum of areas of cooperation including economic, trade and industrial policy, free movement, right of residence and establishment among member states(Benneh 2005:1). For instance, the ECOWAS Protocol Relating to Free Movement of Persons, Residence and Establishment was adopted in Dakar, Senegal on 29 May 1979.