Italy reimposes border controls on Spain after Ceuta migrant surge

Italy has suspended the Schengen border-free arrangement with Spain for one month, imposing targeted checks on non-EU nationals arriving from Spain by air or sea.

Italy said on Friday it was suspending the European Union's border-free Schengen arrangements with Spain ‌for one month in response to a mass influx of migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta from neighbouring Morocco. However, the government said the measure would not affect Spanish or other EU citizens travelling to Italy and would instead involve targeted checks on non-EU ‌nationals arriving from Spain by air or sea.

"This is an extraordinary measure, adopted to safeguard national security and prevent possible ‌repercussions for our nation," Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wrote on X. "The measure will be kept in force only for the time necessary, with particular attention to limiting any impact on summer tourist flows," she added.

Italy, which does not share a land border with Spain, also said it had agreed with ⁠Paris to ​strengthen controls along the Franco-Italian frontier ⁠to try to prevent undocumented migrants from crossing. CRITICS SEE DOMESTIC POLITICAL MOTIVE

The move came after Spain said it had largely reversed the rush of migrants ⁠into Ceuta, with most of the more than 50,000 people who had crossed into the enclave returning voluntarily to Morocco. Critics of Meloni's right-wing ​government dismissed the new border checks as largely symbolic, saying there was no indication that migrants arriving in Ceuta had ⁠any desire to travel onwards to Italy.

Meloni's coalition, which came to power in 2022 promising to reduce illegal immigration, has faced strong pressure from a ⁠new far-right ​party led by former army general Roberto Vannacci, whose anti-migrant rhetoric has resonated with some voters. With migration once again dominating headlines, the government has sought to promote a tough stance on security, however centre-left opponents accused the government of pandering to ⁠populists and undermining ties with Spain.

"The problem is that this is a purely demagogic proposal, as usual designed for domestic ⁠consumption and to compete with Vannacci, ⁠without solving anything at all," said Piero De Luca, a senior lawmaker with the opposition Democratic Party. The Schengen Area allows passport-free travel across 29 European countries, although member states can ‌temporarily reintroduce border controls ‌on security or public-order grounds.