Italy, Spain extend tit-for-tat border controls after Ceuta migrant rush
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Spanish police officers monitor travellers arriving from Italy amid a dispute over irregular migration, at Madrid-Barajas Airport, in Madrid, on Aug 8.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Italy has extended its suspension of open-border arrangements with Spain for 15 more days due to ongoing migrant issues in Ceuta.
- Spain will also continue checking passengers from Italy for 15 additional days, maintaining reciprocal border controls.
- The migrant crisis in Ceuta involved over 72,000 arrivals, with significant deaths reported, and political tensions rising ahead of Italy's 2027 elections.
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ROME - Italy said on Aug 31 it would suspend its open-border arrangements with Spain for another 15 days, extending restrictions it imposed after a mass rush of migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta a month ago.
In response, Spain said it would also keep checking passengers arriving from Italy by air and sea for 15 more days, prolonging tit-for-tat restrictions that have undermined the European Union’s passport-free Schengen zone.
Rome’s right-wing government initially brought in the restrictions on Aug 1, saying it wanted to make sure no migrants entering Ceuta could travel on to Italy. Those curbs had been due to expire on Aug 31.
The decision to extend the suspension “was taken... due to the persistence of the factors that had led to the reintroduction of the measures on Aug 1,” Italy’s Interior Ministry said.
The Spanish authorities say between 5,000 and 8,000 people remain in Ceuta after at least 72,000 crossed from neighbouring Morocco on July 30.
At least 82 migrants were found dead on the Spanish side of the border and Morocco confirmed 14 more deaths.
The ministry said Italy was aware of “the steps already undertaken by Spain, together with the European Union, to help bring the situation in the area back to normal in the near future”.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has taken a hard line against illegal immigration, is under pressure from a new far-right party, Futuro Nazionale, whose rhetoric is resonating with some voters ahead of elections due in 2027.
The centre-left opposition criticised the decision to reinstate border checks, saying it would undermine ties with Madrid, and that there was no indication migrants in Ceuta would travel to Italy.
Spain initially rolled out its curbs on passengers arriving from Italy on Aug 8 and said they would last for a month. Following Italy’s decision on Aug 31, Spain said it would extend its border checks “for a further 15 days”. REUTERS
