Spain warns of reciprocal travel restrictions if Italy keeps border checks

Spain warned on Friday that it may impose reciprocal travel measures against Italy if Rome does not remove the border controls it introduced last week following a large influx of migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. The Spanish government described the Italian checks as unjustified, contrary to EU interests and discriminatory toward Spaniards, and set a deadline of Sunday, August 9, for their removal. Madrid argued that migrants who entered Ceuta irregularly cannot access the Schengen area, noting that most have already returned to Morocco.

Italy, which does not share a land border with Spain, said the partial suspension of Schengen arrangements was needed to prevent those migrants from traveling onward to Italy. No comment was provided by Italian officials on Spain's latest statement. The clash underscores a deepening rift between Italy's conservative prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, who favors stricter immigration controls, and Spain's socialist leader, Pedro Sanchez, who supports more liberal policies and a regularisation programme for undocumented migrants.