The European Commission pledged an initial 42 million euros ($53.9 million) to help kickstart post-war reconstruction in Lebanon, External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said on Wednesday. The cash will be offered at a donors' conference in Stockholm on Thursday which Lebanon hopes will raise a total $500 million for short-term recovery work like clearing unexploded cluster bombs, rebuilding shattered homes and restoring roads. "We are 100 percent committed to helping Lebanon in its physical rehabilitation," Ferrero-Waldner said in a statement. "But a successful long-term recovery will also require political and economic reforms," she was quoted as saying by Reuters. The EU executive said the new money would bring to over 100 million euros the total aid it has offered Lebanon since the conflict began, including humanitarian assistance.
