Ghana in Search of Regional Integration Agenda 150 own time-table and advance its own integration before entering into any free trade agreement with the European Union, especially since the latter is the most advanced regional integration and economic bloc. The work dynamics of the Working Group has involved two focal points – Benin and Ghana. Each meeting, following the formal maiden meeting in Cotonou(May 2005), has taken place with an agenda developed by the two focal points, in consultation with other members of the Working Group. Thus the Group has held a number of meetings as follows:- in Dakar, in July 2005 to share knowledge and adopt a position on the Economic Partnership Agreement(EPA); in Accra, October 2005 to focus on Food Security in West Africa; in Bamako in January 2006 to build capacity of the Group on regional integration and advocacy strategy development. Subsequently, the Group met with the Secretary-Generals of the Sub-Regions Trade Union Confederations, in Abuja in May 2006, to share information and develop perspectives on how to deal with the challenges. 163 Emerging out of the meeting with the Secretary – Generals were important decisions that were to help push the regional integration agenda by counteracting the European Union's push for completion of EPA by end 2007. The decisions taken included the expansion of the country-coverage of the working group beyond the initial six West African countries; a lobby visit to the ECOWAS Secretariat, in Abuja; meeting with West African trade unionists attending the International Labour Conference in Geneva, June 2006; and a three-person lobby delegation to Brussels and Berlin, in July 2006 to engage with policy makers and parliamentarians in anticipation of the German ascendancy of the EU Presidency – due for July – December 2006. In all these, organised labour representatives were strong in articulating their concerns for regional integration and the tendency for the EPA negotiations processes and outcomes to undermine regional integration, in Africa and indeed all the regional economic groupings. Like all advocacy activities, particularly at the supra-national level, outcomes have been difficult to measure. Certain processes and developments, however, point to the growing recognition of organised labour as an important segment of civil society in Africa for the campaigns against the EPA and for regional integration. Some of these processes and developments include increased collaboration with wider network of trade unions and other civil society activists; 164 Official pronouncements from the EU Parliament and EU member states' Parliaments – Britain, France, 163 Ibid. 164 In the last quarter of 2006, the erstwhile ICFTU and OXFAM International put together a campaign of some eight trade union and other civil society elements to undertake a lobby tour of Belgium, Germany, Italy, France and other European Cities. In November 2007 again the ActionAid International and the then ICFTU in collaboration with a number of a number of European NGOs organised another EPA European Tour involving trade unionists from Ghana and the Caribbean, as well as other representatives from Civil society, private sector and indeed the Ugandan Parliament.