Rebuilding Libya - the task ahead

With Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year rule over Libya seemingly at an end, the onus rests with the National Transitional Council to first stabilise and then reconstruct its infrastructure.

Building democratic states is complex and challenging at the best of times.

After violent conflict, this task is additionally complicated by the need for peace to be secured, institutions comprehensively reformed - if not built from scratch - and civil society and political culture reinvigorated.

38% of Europeans see tackling poverty as a main challenge for EU-Africa relations, says Eurobarometer

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A special Eurobarometer on EU-Africa relations published ahead of the EU-Africa Summit in Libya on 29/30 November shows that European citizens broadly agree with the focus of cooperation between the two partners. For Europeans, the main challenges for cooperation are to tackle poverty (38%), peace and security (34%), and human rights (33%). This focus is consistent with the primary EU development policy goal of eradicating poverty, as laid out in the Lisbon Treaty and reflected in the Commission’s recent Green Paper on “EU Development Policy in Support of Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development”.

European Commissioner for Development, Andris Piebalgs said: “Achieving the Millennium Development Goals and overcoming poverty remain at the heart of Europe’s partnership with Africa. I am encouraged to see that this is also a priority for citizens across Europe. Earlier this month, the European Commission has presented proposals on how to consolidate our relationship, by adding strength to it and focusing on inclusive and sustainable growth in the long term. The Summit in Tripoli will be an excellent occasion to discuss ways of how to improve our cooperation in this respect.”