Over 65 years have passed since the signing of the Treaty of Rome - which led to the creation of the European Union - and since Ghana’s independence. Since 1957, the EU and its Member States have sought an active partnership and friendship with African partners, particularly with Ghana. Over the past decades, a lot has been achieved in this regard.

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The European Union in Ghana is a diplomatic mission and officially represents the European Union in Ghana. It is part of the European Union External Service (EEAS), which has 142 diplomatic representations throughout the world. Alongside the EU Delegation, there are 9 EU Members States that have a resident Ambassador in Ghana.

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The EU and Ghana are working together to keep strengthening their political partnership. With Ghana’s seat at the UN Security Council (2022-2023) and Chairmanship of ECOWAS (2020-2022), the EU is joining forces with Ghana to assert their shared values and positive agenda at global level, particularly in the area of regional security. Ghana and EU’s common priorities are discussed and reiterated annually at national level, through the EU-Ghana partnership dialogue.

More generally, the EU-Ghana political partnership is grounded in the ongoing EU-AU dialogue. This cross-continental partnership strives to bring Africa and Europe closer together by strengthening economic cooperation and promoting sustainable development, with both continents defending and promoting peace, security, democracy, prosperity, solidarity and human dignity. At the 6th EU-AU Summit in Brussels in February 2022, the following joint priorities were agreed between the Heads of States and governments of AU and EU members:

• A joint vision for a renewed partnership;
• A prosperous and sustainable Africa and Europe, with the Africa-Europe Investment Package of €150 billion;
• Ensuring fair and equitable access to vaccines;
• A renewed and enhanced cooperation for peace and security;
• An enhanced and reciprocal partnership for migration and mobility;
• and A commitment to multilateralism.

These shared ambitions will support the African Union Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want.

The EU in Ghana is starting its Joint Programming for 2021-2027 which was launched by Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, and EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, during her visit to Accra in April 2022. This programming falls under the Global Europe financing instrument, which allows for the deployment of geographical, thematic and rapid response actions to support the EU's partner countries.

Under this programme, the EU will provide EUR 203 million for the period 2021-2024 for the following three priorities:

These priorities were determined by the EU together with its Team Europe partners (Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and the European Investment Bank) and the Government of Ghana. Other Ghanaian stakeholders were also actively consulted, especially civil society, including youth and women's organisations.

For more information: DG International Partnerships - Ghana

The Joint Programming priorities align with the EU's overarching approach based on the following policy frameworks:

• The European Green Deal provides a roadmap to address climate change, revert biodiversity loss, cut pollution and boost the efficient use of resources by moving to a clean circular economy. Europe will play a leading role in achieving these goals, alongside its African partners to reach the common objectives outlined in the Paris Climate Agreement.
• The Global Gateway is the new European strategy to boost smart, clean and secure links in digital, energy and transport sectors and to strengthen health, education and research systems across the world. This will allow the EU to step up its investment in infrastructure development around the world, including partner countries like Ghana.
• The EU Gender Action Plan III (2020-2025) is an ambitious plan to promote gender equality and women's empowerment through all external actions of the European Union. The Gender Action Plan focuses on five areas of intervention, including promoting gender equality and empowerment across all EU programmes.
• The EU Youth Strategy (2019-2027) and Action Plan seek to foster youth participation in democratic life, support youth social and civic engagement, and ensure that all young people have the necessary resources to take part in society. This is especially important in Ghana, where 58% of the total population is under 25 years old.