The European Commission says it is powerless to stop Italy from banning charity rescue boats entering its territorial waters.
The statement on Friday (4 November) follows moves by the new government in Rome under Georgia Meloni to further crack down on the Mediterranean Sea rescues.
Meloni's interior ministry said it is exploring a possible ban on the boats from entering Italian territorial waters based on article 19 of the UN International Convention on the Law of the Sea.
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Nikolaj joined EUobserver in 2012 and covers home affairs. He is originally from Denmark, but spent much of his life in France and in Belgium. He was awarded the King Baudouin Foundation grant for investigative journalism in 2010.