ECOWAS is stepping up efforts towards a regional settlement on the Economic Partnership Agreement, EPA with the European Union. Ivory Coast and Ghana have threatened to break away from the regional block and sign the full pact, because of delay in reaching a regional consensus. The European Union has indicated countries like Ghana that have partially signed the EPA might have difficulties in accessing their markets if they fail to sign the full agreement. President of the ECOWAS Commission, Ambassador Kadre Desire Ouedraogo however tells Joy Business its important for ECOWAS to work out a regional treaty Ghana in 2007 became the second country after Ivory Coast to sign the Interim EPA with the European Union. The contract allows 80 percent of some goods from Europe into the Ghanaian market duty-free and quota-free, while Ghana will continue to have 100 percent access to the EU market, except for sugar and rice.