Spain's interior ministry announced temporary border checks on visitors arriving from Italy, effective from midnight Saturday until 7 September, after Italy imposed its own one-month checks on people arriving from Spain following a mass crossing from Morocco into Ceuta on 30–31 July.
Spain introduces reciprocal border checks on Italy after diplomatic dispute over Ceuta migration
Spain's interior ministry announced temporary border checks on visitors arriving from Italy, effective from midnight Saturday until 7 September, after Italy imposed its own one-month checks on people arriving from Spain following a mass crossing from Morocco into Ceuta on 30–31 July.
Spain's interior ministry said the measures were introduced 'amid the persistent irregular migration pressure' facing Italy. The announcement came hours after Spain's foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, demanded Italy lift its checks and warned of 'proportional measures' if it did not comply by Sunday.
Italy's government, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, responded that it 'had no intention of revising the decision' before 15 August, citing what it said was a Spanish expectation of a new migration wave reaching Ceuta around that date. A statement from Meloni's office said Italy 'does not accept ultimatums or impositions from abroad regarding national security and border control,' and indicated the decision would be reconsidered only when there was certainty of no security, terrorism, or new irregular migration risks.
Italy introduced its border controls at maritime and air entry points for third-country nationals arriving from Spain on 31 July, describing the move as an 'extraordinary measure' to 'safeguard national security.' Italy does not share a land border with Spain. Italian authorities said they would 'do their utmost to ensure maximum ease of movement for Spanish and European citizens' who are not subject to the checks.
The Spanish government characterised Italy's original measure as 'unfair, contrary to the EU's interests and discriminatory for the Spanish population.' Albares described it as 'a torpedo fired at the hull of European unity' and called on Italy to 'treat Spaniards like other European citizens.' Spain also cautioned against 'creating rifts and sterile conflicts driven by internal electoral motives.'
The dispute follows events on 30–31 July in which tens of thousands of people crossed from Morocco into Ceuta. According to official Spanish figures, approximately 72,000 people entered, of whom 70,000 have since returned to Morocco. Spanish authorities reported 80 deaths in the crossings. Moroccan rights organisations, including the Moroccan Association for Human Rights and the European Coordination for Human Rights in Morocco, said at least 141 deaths had been recorded as of Friday and that the toll was likely to rise. Morocco's interior ministry reported 11 deaths on its side of the border, all but one by drowning.
Those still in Ceuta, including hundreds of unaccompanied children, reportedly face limited access to food, water, and shelter, according to the source article.
Spanish police have been monitoring social media and online rumours about possible further arrivals in Ceuta in mid-August, according to local media, though Spanish authorities have not publicly stated they expect a repeat of the July crossing.
Meloni was among several EU leaders who called for Spain to be suspended from the Schengen visa-free travel zone following the Ceuta incident, though the source notes such a suspension would be legally impossible. Italy's coalition government has pursued policies aimed at reducing the number of people arriving by boat on Italian shores each year.
- The source does not establish the precise legal or Schengen framework basis on which either country justified its border checks.
- The source does not include any direct response from Moroccan government officials regarding Spain's or Italy's border measures.
- The source does not clarify whether the Spanish reciprocal checks apply to all travellers from Italy or only to third-country nationals, as Italy's checks specified.
- The source does not detail what specific intelligence or evidence underpins Italy's claim that Spanish authorities expect a new wave of migration around 15 August.
- The source does not report any position from the European Commission or other EU institutions on the legality or appropriateness of either country's border checks.
- The source does not provide accounts from those still in Ceuta beyond a brief description of living conditions.
Read the original at The Guardian