Three important ECOWAS Statutory Meetings, namely the 74th Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers, the 34th Mediation and Security Council meeting, and the 47th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government will take place in Accra, Ghana from 15-19 May 2015.

The Council session of 15 and 16 May, will be addressed by Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, the current Chair of Council, Mrs. Hanna Tetteh, and the President of the ECOWAS Commission H.E. Kadré Désiré Ouédraogo,
The session will focus among others on the deepening of regional integration process, the functioning of ECOWAS institutions and economic development.

The Council, comprising Member States’ Ministers in charge of ECOWAS Affairs, will consider the Commission President’s 2015 Interim Report and the Financial Controller’s 2014 Final Report.
Council will also consider the report of the 17th Administration and Finance Committee (AFC) meeting, report of the stakeholders’ meeting on the Community Levy and the Memorandum on the first phase of institutional reforms.

Other agenda items, include consideration of the Memorandum on the end of tenure of some Statutory Appointees, the Memorandum on the Economic Partnership Agreement between West Africa and the European Union, as well as the Memorandum on the allocation of the Headquarters of the ECOWAS Regional Competition Authority.

Council will also consider several sectoral reports including those on the meeting of Ministers of Culture and the meeting of Ministers of Women Affairs and Gender, the Memorandum on the Abidjan Declaration by ECOWAS Ministers on the Eradication of Statelessness within the Community and the draft ECOWAS Plan of Action on gender and Trade, as well as the draft Supplementary Act on equal rights for men and women to ensure sustainable development in the Community.

There will also be presentations on the meeting of Consular and Immigration officers on the Biometric National Identity Cards and registration of ECOWAS citizens, reports on the Sahel Strategy, the regional Common External Tariff (CET), and the Memorandum on the Community Development Programme (CDP).
The 17th May, 34th session of the Mediation and Security Council (MSC), comprising the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defence of the ECOWAS Member States, will focus on the political and security situation of the region, particularly on Burkina Faso and Guinea Bissau, and the electoral processes in the region.

The 47th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government, scheduled for Tuesday, 19 May 2015, will also dwell on the above-mentioned issues, as well as consider the Commission President’s 2015 Interim Report, the outcomes of the 74th Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers, and the 34th Mediation and Security Council (MSC) meeting.