Spain will temporarily reintroduce border controls for passengers arriving by air and sea from Italy, intensifying a dispute with Rome over irregular migration after a large influx of migrants into the North African enclave of Ceuta.
The controls will begin at midnight on Saturday and remain in place until September 7, with passport, nationality and visa checks for passengers arriving from Italy, Reuters reported.
The move comes after Italy introduced its own border controls on arrivals from Spain following the entry of around 72,000 people into Ceuta from Morocco last month. Rome said it would maintain the measures until at least August 15.
Spain had earlier threatened reciprocal measures unless Italy lifted its controls by Sunday. Italy rejected the demand, saying it would not bow to “ultimatums or impositions” from Madrid.
The Italian government said it would reconsider the measures only once it was satisfied there were no security or terrorism risks, no fresh migration wave and no irregular migrants moving towards European territory, Reuters reported.
Spain has criticised Italy’s decision as unjustified, arguing that most of the migrants who entered Ceuta had already returned to Morocco and were unlikely to travel onwards to Italy. Madrid also pointed to Italy’s own irregular migration figures while challenging Rome’s justification for the controls.
The dispute has also exposed differences between the governments of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni over migration policy.