Spain began imposing passport, nationality and visa checks on travelers arriving from Italy at midnight Saturday, retaliating for similar measures Rome introduced after the mass arrival of tens of thousands of migrants in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.
The controls will remain in place until September 7, Spain's Interior Ministry said in a statement Friday, citing what it called persistent irregular migration pressure on Italy, Al Jazeera reported. Because Italy shares no land border with Spain, the checks apply at maritime and air entry points.
Italy introduced its own temporary controls on August 1, following a rush of roughly 72,000 people into Ceuta from Morocco on foot and by sea in late July. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni described the move as an extraordinary measure to safeguard national security.
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares called the Italian decision a torpedo fired at the hull of European unity, according to France 24. Madrid gave Rome a two-day deadline to reverse course and warned of proportional measures.
Italy refused within hours. Meloni's office said the government does not accept ultimatums or impositions from abroad regarding national security and border control, and would maintain its checks until at least August 15, when Spanish authorities are said to expect another wave of arrivals in Ceuta, France 24 reported.
The Spanish government argued that Rome's decision rests on grounds incompatible with the Schengen Borders Code. It noted that Ceuta holds a special status and that none of those who entered irregularly were permitted to move freely within the Schengen area, and said the vast majority have already returned to Morocco, according to Euronews.
Madrid also pointed to Frontex data showing Italy has recorded the highest number of irregular crossings of the EU's external borders in recent years, at times double Spain's figures, and accused Rome of breaching the Dublin Regulation since 2022. Spain noted it never responded with border controls in those years and took in migrants who arrived in Lampedusa in 2023.
Spanish police have been monitoring online rumors of fresh arrivals in Ceuta in mid-August, though authorities have not said publicly that they expect a repeat.