African leaders announce new union

African leaders meeting in the Libyan port of Sirte have pledged support for the formation of a new African Union -- loosely modelled on the European Union.

The Organisation for African Unity said all fifty-three member states supported the proposal by the Libyan leader, Colonel Gaddafi.

However, a BBC Correspondent covering the meeting says there are significant hurdles in the way of the proposed union.

Our Correspondent says the proposal still needs several more countries to ratify it, and some key regional states have reservations about the project. Under OAU regulations two-thirds of member states -- thirty-six countries -- must formally ratify the proposal before it can be legally binding.

So far only thirty have done so. The new Union would comprise a range of pan-African bodies including a parliament, central bank, monetary fund and court of justice.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service