NGOs should pay fines like traffic ones says Salvini

(ANSA) - ROME, DEC 29 - NGOs that operate illegally in the Mediterranean rescuing migrants should pay newly introduced government fines for breaking a new code of conduct just like citizens have to pay traffic fines, Transport Minister Matteo Salvini said Thursday.
    The government has approved new rules for migrant rescue NGOs mandating the technical suitability of their ships, and transit and rescue in Italian territorial waters only for fast rescues.
    Fines of up to 50,000 euros have been set for those who break the code.
    Ships may be impounded for up to two months, or even seized under the new norms.
    Salvini, head of the anti-migrant League party, is a former strongman interior minister who stopped NGO run ships docking in Italy during his stint at the Viminale from 2018 to 2019, a policy the new government led by conservative Premier Giorgia Meloni resurrected only to retreat from. (ANSA).