A diplomatic dispute between Spain and Italy over the arrival of tens of thousands of migrants in Spain’s North African territory of Ceuta intensified Saturday after Madrid imposed border checks on Italian travelers in response to similar measures by Rome.
Italians arriving at Barcelona’s airport were subjected to random police checks after the measures took effect overnight, Spain’s state news agency EFE reported.
The Spanish government said the controls would remain in place for at least a month after Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni rejected Madrid’s warning Friday that it would take “proportionate measures to protect the interests and dignity of its citizens” unless Rome lifted its restrictions by an Aug. 9 deadline.
Italy began enforcing air and sea border controls on Spanish citizens Aug. 1, following Meloni’s sharp criticism of the migration policies of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
The diplomatic feud erupted after about 72,000 migrants from Morocco arrived suddenly in Ceuta late last month. Most have since returned to Morocco, but more than 80 migrants died, including people who drowned or were trampled in a stampede as they tried to cross a breakwater barrier, according to Spanish and Moroccan authorities.
The migrant rush into Ceuta also reignited the immigration debate within the European Union, whose leaders criticized Sanchez over policies they suggested were responsible for the massive influx.
Hawkish EU leaders such as Meloni pointed to those policies, including a Spanish government decision to grant amnesty to immigrants without residency permits who could prove they had been living in the country for at least five months and arrived before Jan. 1 this year. More than 1 million people applied before the window closed at the end of last month.
The 27-member EU has a visa-free travel area known as the Schengen area, which allows citizens of most EU countries to travel easily across borders for work and leisure.
According to the EU, member states are allowed to temporarily reintroduce controls at the bloc’s so-called internal borders in case of a serious threat, such as one to internal security. But it also says border controls should be used only as a last resort in exceptional situations and must be time-limited.
Meloni’s office said Friday that Italian authorities “have no intention” of lifting border checks on people arriving from Spain by sea or air until at least Aug. 15, six days after the Spanish deadline.
“Italy does not accept ultimatums or impositions from abroad about national security and border control,” the statement said.
Should there be a repeat of migrant arrivals in Ceuta, Italy would review its decision to impose the checks “only when we are certain that there will be no security or terrorist risks for Italy, that there will be no new wave, and that there are no irregular migrants heading toward European territory,” the statement added.
