Minniti says debate on NGO code of conduct over

(ANSA) - Rome, July 26 - Interior Minister Marco Minniti said Wednesday that the debate about the new code of conduct for NGOs involved in rescuing asylum seekers in the Mediterranean is over. NGOs have criticised the code, an Italian proposal adopted by the EU that, among other things, forbids NGO vessels entering Libyan territorial waters. "We proposed it, but first we discussed it in parliament and then in Europe," Minniti told a joint session of the Senate's defence and foreign affairs committees. "At a certain point the discussions end".