EU to cut off Libya's oil revenue

Command of military operations

The discussion of the EU leaders came on the day when the core coalition members currently bombing Libya – France, the UK and the US – reached agreement with Turkey to transfer command of the operation to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya to NATO. The transfer is to take place in the coming days.
 
The agreement came about in a conference call between Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, and Alain Juppé, William Hague and Ahmet Davutoğlu, her French, British and Turkish counterparts.
 
NATO has been enforcing a UN arms embargo against Libya since yesterday, authorising alliance warships in the Mediterranean to intercept arms and mercenaries on their way to Libya.
 
Turkey originally opposed plans that the operation to enforce the no-fly zone should have separate political and military leaderships but agreed to the scheme after receiving concessions whose nature remains unclear.
 
The operation's political leadership is to rest with a steering group that is expected to include Arab states such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, on the model of similar arrangements for NATO-led operations in Afghanistan.
 
The African Union, which opposes military action against Libya, has called a meeting between representatives of Libya's insurgents and of Qaddafi's regime in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital, tomorrow. It is not clear whether both sides will follow the call. The European Union has provided funding for the initiative. The Arab League and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, which had endorsed a no-fly zone over Libya, have also been invited, as has the EU.