Italy called Thursday for Spain to be suspended from the Schengen zone after hundreds of migrants entered its exclave of Ceuta from Morocco.
The Schengen Area is a system of open borders that encompasses 29 European countries that have officially abolished frontier controls at their common borders.
"I am in favor of closing the Schengen area with Spain," Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani wrote on the social media platform X.
"Irregular and uncontrolled immigration poses a danger to national security," Tajani said.
Earlier on Thursday, Spain said it would dispatch soldiers to ensure security after hundreds of migrants entered Ceuta from Morocco, mainly by swimming, and reported nine deaths.
"The images coming from Ceuta show how the Madrid Government's decision to grant Spanish, and therefore European, citizenship to over 500,000 irregular immigrants is profoundly wrong and encourages human trafficking," Tajani said.
Matteo Salvini, also Italy's deputy prime minister and leader of the far-right League party, has in turn called for the Schengen zone to be suspended and Europe's borders defended.
Migration from Morocco into Spain's two north African territories, Ceuta and Melilla, has long been a politically sensitive issue between the two countries, as thousands cross the border at times.
Earlier Thursday, local authorities in Ceuta asked the central government in Madrid for reinforcements to manage the border crisis that had been building up before boiling over with large crowds of people breaching the border fence.
Spain's government said Thursday evening it would send the Armed Forces to help the Civil Guard "to maintain security in the city of Ceuta." It also announced that Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez would join Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska and visit Ceuta Friday.
Spain is a main point of arrival into Europe for migrants seeking better economic opportunities or an escape from violence in their home countries.
To reach Ceuta, migrants often swim from the Moroccan town of Fnideq, covering about 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) to reach Spanish territory. Others attempt the crossing from the nearby town of Belyounech, where the distance is shorter.
The scenes of people streaming across the frontier recall the border crisis of May 2021 when more than 8,000 migrants poured into Ceuta in just two days.
At the time, Morocco was accused of easing border controls and allowing migrants to cross into Ceuta.
Spain's Interior Ministry, which tracks irregular migration, would not confirm the number of migrants who had made it to Ceuta in the last few days but said it would publish its next migration report on Aug. 3.
As of July 15, nearly 3,000 migrants had entered Ceuta by land or sea this year, according to ministry figures.
