Assembly/AU/Dec.156 (VIII) DECISION ON THE REPORT OF THE 9th EXTRAORDINARY SESSION OF THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL ON THE PROPOSALS FOR THE UNION GOVERNMENT – DOC. ASSEMBLY/AU/10 (VIII) The Assembly: 1. TAKES NOTE of the Report of the 9th Extraordinary Session of the Executive Council on the Proposals for the Union Government held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in November 2006; 2. REITERATES that the ultimate objective of the African Union is the political and economic integration of the continent leading to the creation of the United States of Africa; 3. DECIDES to devote the 9th Ordinary Session of the Assembly in Accra, Ghana in July 2007 to the theme: “Grand Debate on the Union Government”; 4. FURTHER DECIDES that all other agenda items shall, in principle, be transferred to the 10th Ordinary Session of the Assembly scheduled in January 2008 with the exception of the Elections of the Members of the Commission; 5. REQUESTS Member States to carry out the necessary national consultations within their countries; 6. ALSO REQUESTS the Commission and the Regional Economic Communities to undertake regional and continental consultations respectively; 7. ENDORSES the proposal of the Executive Council, as part of this process, to hold a retreat of Ministers of Foreign Affairs to reflect on the state of the Union to be followed by an Extraordinary Session of the Executive Council and WELCOMES WITH SATISFACTION the offer by the Government of South Africa to host such meetings.