BRUSSELS AFP, Aug 24 2018- The EU hit back Friday at Italian “threats” after the deputy prime minister warned that Rome would pull funding for the bloc if Brussels fails to relocate migrants from a coast guard ship.   

Deputy prime minister Luigi Di Maio said Thursday that his government is prepared to drop its annual contribution to the EU if an emergency meeting of key states in Brussels does nothing for the migrants blocked aboard the Diciotti vessel at the Sicilian port of Catania.