Italy repeated its demand on Tuesday that military operations against Libya be placed under a joint NATO command, underlining the growing differences in the anti-Gaddafi coalition.
Foreign minister Franco Frattini said that in the very first phase of the operation it had been necessary to move quickly and individual forces had been left under national command to stop the immediate attacks on rebel forces.
"But now this action, which everyone judged unacceptable, has been stopped, it's time to get back to the rules," he told RAI radio.
"The rules say there should be a single coordination, shared responsibility, each member of the coalition has to share in the choices that are made and pay the political price," he said.
Italy, the former colonial power in Libya and previously Gaddafi's closest friend in Europe, has joined the anti-Gaddafi alliance but has appeared more cautious about the scope of the operation than others such as Britain and France.
"We cannot imagine that there can be different commands or commands that are separate from each member which has a stake in the choices that are made, given that everyone pays the political price," Frattini said.
"I think that what has to happen is that NATO should assume command," he said, adding that if no unified command were agreed, Italy would resume control of the seven airbases it has made available to allied air forces.
Frattini's comments reflect evident Italian annoyance with the attitude of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who led the diplomatic drive for the Security Council resolution against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
French jets were the first to begin bombing in Libya on Saturday and Paris has strongly resisted assigning command of the mission to NATO, saying Arab nations did not want to see military operations led by the U.S.-dominated alliance.
"(France) is a friendly country but a moment for reflection and more coordination would be welcome," Gianpiero Cantoni, head of the Senate defence affairs committee and a member of the ruling PDL party, told the Corriere della Sera daily.
He said French policy appeared to be motivated by a desire to secure oil contracts with a future Libyan government and to increase its own influence in the Mediterranean, while Italy would have to face a potential flood of refugees.
"The attitude of France is not acceptable. Italy cannot only have the migrants, we absolutely have to protect our investments," he said.
On Monday, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said the mission should be limited to creating a no-fly zone and he said Italian planes taking part would not open fire.
