Spain imposes border checks on Italian travelers in tit-for-tat move over Ceuta migrants row
Spain’s checks target third-country passengers and will last at least a month, after Italy kept its own restrictions in place over the Ceuta migration surge.
- Effective Saturday, the Spanish government implemented mandatory passport, nationality, and visa checks for all arrivals from Italy, escalating a diplomatic row over migrant management between Madrid and Rome.
- The diplomatic dispute follows the sudden arrival of 72,000 migrants in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta last month, after which Italy began imposing border controls on Spanish citizens on August 1, citing criticism of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's migration policies.
- Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's office stated on Friday that Italian authorities "have no intention" of lifting border checks until at least August 15, maintaining Rome will not accept "ultimatums or impositions" regarding national security.
- Travelers arriving at Barcelona airport faced random police checks overnight as the new measures took effect, according to the Spanish state news agency EFE, after Italy rejected a demand to lift its restrictions by August 9.
- The dispute continues to strain the European Union's Schengen visa-free travel area, with Italy indicating it will only review border policy when certain of no "security or terrorist risks" or new waves of irregular migrants.
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The new border controls established by Spain for connections with Italy have reached 199 third-country nationals travelling on twelve flights on their first day. Madrid and Barcelona have concentrated most of the actions carried out this Saturday, while in Alicante no passengers have been controlled despite ... Continue reading "Spain carries out 200 controls on passengers coming from Italy after Sánchez's border tantrum with Meloni"
The Spanish authorities are putting in place new measures in response to the Rome decisions.
The passengers arriving in Madrid and Barcelona expressed their surprise and in some cases their annoyance at the obligation to identify with their passport when getting off the plane
Spain and Italy have ensured that the internal borders imposed after the crisis of irregular entry into Ceuta "are temporary".
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