SIRTE, Libya — In a step towards a federal government for the continent, African leaders reached a compromise deal early Friday, July 3, on the powers of a new regional Authority that will coordinate key policies across Africa. "The states are ready to cede a little bit a part of their sovereignty for the benefit of the union," Benin's Foreign Minister Jean-Marie Ehouzou said.

The final deal gave the Authority power to "coordinate the positions of the African Union on questions of common interest for the continent and its people," said the text cited by Agence France-Presse (AFP).

While the Authority will coordinate key policies, it will only represent the continent in international affairs when mandated by the member states.

The African leaders had agreed in February to transform the existing African Union Commission into the AU Authority, but their talks in Sirte needed to hammer out details of its powers.

The 53 member states still must ratify the deal, reached after lengthy and heated talks behind closed doors.

Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi -- the current African Union chief -- had pushed to grant broad power over regional defense and foreign affairs to the new AU Authority, a step toward his dream of a "United States of Africa".

But his proposal was met with fierce opposition from the continent's biggest economy South Africa and top oil producers Nigeria and Angola, who argued for a more gradual approach to integration.

"They have introduced the concept of a union government, but the Authority was not meant for that," one diplomat said of the Libyan proposals.

"It was meant to be an inter-governmental organization."

Safeguards

To ease concerns, the final text added safeguards ensuring the Authority would only act with the consent of the members, rather than exert any power over them.

"It will only act when mandated by the member states," said one official who was part of the closed-door negotiations.

The wrangling over the Authority added to the tensions that overshadowed the summit, which began with Kadhafi's surprise invitation to Iran's leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to address the gathering.

Delegates complained that they hadn't been consulted and feared the Iranian visit would overshadow the meeting's official agenda, prompting Tehran to cancel the trip.

A new debate also erupted over a draft measure circulated on the International Criminal Court.

"The AU member states shall not cooperate... for the arrest and surrender of African indicted personalities," said the draft text.

The text, backed by Kadhafi, would amount to a reprieve across Africa for Sudan's President Omar al-Beshir, who faces an ICC arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Darfur.

The measure has not yet come up for debate by the heads of state.

Thirty African countries are parties to the statutes that created the ICC, and many do not want to end their cooperation with the court, although they warn the warrant could hamper the peace process in Darfur.

The Darfur conflict broke out in 2003 when rebels took up arms against the Khartoum regime accusing it of discrimination.

The UN says over 300,000 have died as a result of conflict, disease and malnutrition and 2,5 million have been displaced.

The Sudanese government says that 10,000 have died.

No independent inquiry has been made to date.