(Bloomberg) -- Italian Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini criticized the European Union for failing to help his country find a solution to control the flow of migrants to its coastline, as tensions increased over the arrival of the charity ship Sea-Watch 3 near the island of Lampedusa.
“The European Union only shows up when it wants our money,” Salvini, who’s also Interior Minister, said during a press conference in Rome. “The ship is clearly violating our laws. What is someone waiting for to issue an arrest warrant?”
Salvini, the head of the right-wing League party, has adopted a strict stance on immigration since his party took power with the anti-establishment Five Star Movement last year.
Under a decree approved in June, Italy restricted access to Italy’s ports by ships of non-profit government organizations rescuing refugees trying to cross from Africa to Italy.
Salvini reiterated on Wednesday he will not allow the ship carrying the migrants aboard to disembark.
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