The Spanish government has announced that it will implement travel controls at ports and airports for travelers arriving from Italy, effective Saturday at 00:00 until September 7. This decision follows Italy’s rejection of Spain’s ultimatum.
These controls will focus on verifying the identity and nationality of Italian passengers, while travelers of other nationalities arriving from Italy will undergo visa and residence permit checks.
Madrid’s announcement cites similar reasons to those provided by the Italian government when it suspended the Schengen Agreement with Spain, namely the “persistent pressure from illegal migration faced by Italy.” Initially, on Friday, the Spanish government had given Italian authorities until Sunday to lift the border controls imposed on arrivals from Spain in response to a surge of migrants reaching Ceuta, the Spanish enclave on the Moroccan coast. Madrid warned that failure to comply would result in “proportional” measures.
Since Spain and Italy do not share a land border, these checks will apply only to air and sea arrivals.
Italy Rejects Spain’s Ultimatum
In response, the government led by Giorgia Meloni asserted that it would not yield to “ultimatums or impositions.”
The Italian government stated, “Italy does not accept ultimatums or impositions from abroad regarding national security and border control.” They added, “Only when we are sure that there are no security or terrorism risks, that there will be no new wave of migrants, and that no illegal migrants are heading towards European territory, will we consider revising the decisions we have made thus far.”
Madrid contends that Italy’s decision, which raised concerns about potential migrants reaching Italy from Ceuta, is based on “false arguments” lacking factual basis, as migrants who illegally entered Ceuta could not access the Schengen area, and most have already returned to Morocco.
Ceuta and Melilla, the two autonomous Spanish cities on the Moroccan coast, operate under a special regime in relation to the Schengen Agreement, requiring checks for travel to mainland Spain by both air and sea, the Spanish Foreign Ministry has stated.
