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The migration crisis in Ceuta has sparked a political row between Italy and Spain. After news that thousands of migrants had reached the Spanish enclave, Giorgia Meloni’s government announced tighter border checks on arrivals by sea and air from Spain.
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Why people are talking about a suspension of Schengen and what it actually means
Several media outlets on Friday reported that Rome had suspended the Schengen agreement in relation to Spain, because in a post on X Prime Minister Meloni wrote that “the government has decided to temporarily suspend the free movement regime provided for by Schengen on maritime and air links with Spain, reintroducing border checks”.
However, the Schengen agreement already allows border controls to be reintroduced “in the event of a serious threat to public order or internal security”, a step that Italy has already taken for more than a year at the border with Slovenia for citizens coming from third countries. The measure has been described by Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi as “important but precautionary”.
Italy has therefore reintroduced border checks with Spain as an exception to Schengen rules, given that no country can unilaterally suspend another from the free-movement area.
How checks work for travellers arriving from Spain
Minister Piantedosi went on to explain that this is the reinstatement of border controls at sea and air frontiers with Spain for a period of one month and that it is a measure “aimed in particular at monitoring the regularity of movement of non-EU citizens within the Schengen area”.
From Saturday morning, airport police carried out random checks at Rome Fiumicino, Milan Malpensa and Milan Linate airports. For EU citizens it was enough to show proof of identity, while non-EU nationals had to present, in addition to an identity document, valid residence permits or visas.
For citizens travelling from Italy to Spain, by contrast, nothing changes and they remain free to enter the country.
The row between Rome and Madrid draws in the EU
Rome’s decision to restore checks has prompted a strong backlash from the Spanish authorities. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has sent a letter to European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, calling for intervention from Brussels to support Spain and bring EU countries back into line on strategies to contain the migration crisis.
At the same time, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Danish leader Mette Frederiksen sent a letter to the European authorities, co-signed by 22 leaders of member states, requesting a meeting to discuss urgent measures against irregular migration.
On Saturday afternoon, von der Leyen wrote on social media that she had held talks with Commissioners Brunner and Šuica to discuss the crisis in Ceuta, explaining that most of the migrants who had entered the enclave irregularly had already been repatriated.
The Commission president then added that none of the migrants from Morocco had reached mainland Spain or other EU countries, reiterating the need to strengthen Europe’s resilience and saying she was ready to take part in the videoconference requested by European leaders. It will be organised next Tuesday by the current president of the Council of the European Union, Micheál Martin, the Taoiseach of Ireland.
In their letter, Meloni and Frederiksen called for joint action “to strengthen external borders, tackle irregular migration, combat human traffickers, make returns more effective and remove any factor that could encourage new illegal entries”.