EU conflict escalates: Spain hits back at Italy; "Border controls to be introduced"

The Spanish government has decided to reintroduce temporary controls at its internal borders for travelers arriving from Italy starting tomorrow, after Rome rejected Madrid’s request to lift restrictions on travelers from Spain that were introduced amid the migrant crisis in Ceuta, Spanish media report.

Under the new decision by the Madrid government, checks will be introduced “temporarily at internal borders in ports and airports for travel from the Italian Republic.” The measure is justified by the “persistent pressure from irregular migration” that Italy is facing, RTV España reports.

The measures will take effect at midnight on Saturday, August 8, and will be applied randomly until September 7. The checks will include verification of identities, passports, and visas.

Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares described Rome’s decision as “unfair and unjustified,” saying that it “attacks the dignity of Spaniards, but also the unity of Europe.”

“There is no reason to introduce these measures, because secondary movements of migrants from Spain to Italy are practically nonexistent,” Albares said.

The government of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni responded that it would not give in to “ultimatums or impositions” from Spain. Rome said that border checks on arrivals from Spain would remain in place at least until August 15.

Italy said it would reconsider the decision only once it was certain that there were no “security or terrorist risks, nor a new migrant crisis” affecting the territory of the European Union.

The dispute between the two countries began last Friday, when Italy announced the suspension of the Schengen regime with Spain and the introduction of border checks to “protect national security” amid the migrant crisis in the Spanish African enclave of Ceuta.

Madrid stressed that most of the approximately 72,000 migrants who entered Spain’s autonomous city of Ceuta last week had already returned to Morocco, and that the special arrangements in place for Ceuta and Melilla prevent people from reaching mainland Europe without police checks.

The Spanish government had previously warned that if Italy did not withdraw its decision by Sunday, August 9, it would take “proportionate measures to protect the interests and dignity of its citizens.”

Albares criticized footage from Italian airports showing, according to him, Spanish nationals being subjected to “unjustified and undignified” treatment.

He also pointed to what he described as the disproportionate nature of Italy’s measures, noting that for every Spaniard living in Italy, there are 10 Italians living in Spain. According to Albares, Italy is the EU country with the highest number of irregular migrant entries—twice as many as Spain—but Madrid has always responded to migrants with “solidarity,” including by accepting people rescued in the central Mediterranean.

“We believe that the European spirit, common sense, and good faith will prevail,” the Spanish government said, while Albares stressed that Madrid wants to resolve the crisis “through diplomatic means,” while “firmly defending the dignity of its citizens.”