{"id":36905,"date":"2026-07-31T10:29:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T10:29:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/36905\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T10:29:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T10:29:09","slug":"ceuta-migration-crisis-sparks-diplomatic-row-as-italy-demands-spains-suspension-from-schengen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/36905\/","title":{"rendered":"Ceuta migration crisis sparks diplomatic row as Italy demands Spain’s suspension from Schengen"},"content":{"rendered":"

An influx of thousands of migrants entering Spain from neighboring Morocco has plunged<\/a> the autonomous enclave of Ceuta into chaos since Wednesday, prompting fresh backlash against Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez\u2019s immigration policies.<\/p>\n

Local authorities warned on Wednesday that an increasing number of migrants were reaching Ceuta by sea.<\/p>\n

Juan Jes\u00fas Vivas, the president of Ceuta, told reporters that the situation constituted \u201can absolute humanitarian and social emergency\u201d and demanded that the central government take action.<\/p>\n

The situation escalated further on Thursday as thousands of people entered Ceuta by land and sea, overwhelming reception centers.<\/p>\n

Videos shared online showed individuals using wetsuits and life jackets to swim to shore.<\/p>\n

In a statement posted Thursday on X, S\u00e1nchez announced that he was working with Moroccan authorities to restore order as quickly as possible and promised an immediate response.<\/p>\n

The border chaos erupted just weeks after the Spanish Supreme Court issued a ruling preventing the direct deportation of migrants arriving by sea.<\/p>\n

S\u00e1nchez\u2019s political rivals laid the blame for the crisis directly on the prime minister. Santiago Abascal, leader of the right-wing Vox party, characterized the events as an \u201cinvasion,\u201d while Alberto N\u00fa\u00f1ez Feij\u00f3o, leader of the center-right People\u2019s Party (PP), was also among those condemning the prime minister.<\/p>\n

The developments drew additional criticism from anti-immigration figures across Europe, including Alice Weidel, co-leader of Alternative for Germany (AfD), and Manfred Weber, chairman of the European People\u2019s Party (EPP), the largest group in the European Parliament.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis proves one thing: the Migration Pact and return regulations must be put into force today, not tomorrow. Furthermore, Frontex must be strengthened,\u201d Weber wrote.<\/p>\n

Tensions have remained high in Spain since the S\u00e1nchez administration launched a program enabling undocumented migrants to apply for legal status and remain in the country. More than one million people have applied under the scheme.<\/p>\n

This represents the most severe border crisis to hit Ceuta since 2021, when at least 8,000 people entered the territory from Morocco.<\/p>\n

The autonomous Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla are the only EU territories sharing a land border with Africa.<\/p>\n

Italian leaders demand Spain\u2019s expulsion from Schengen<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the fiercest reaction to the migration crisis in Spain emerged<\/a> from Italy. Top Italian politicians demanded that Spain be expelled from the Schengen Area as tensions continued to escalate.<\/p>\n

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a statement on X: \u201cThe images coming from Ceuta are shocking and demonstrate once again that uncontrolled illegal migration poses a real threat to the security of Europe\u2019s borders.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meloni added that Italy was prepared to act, \u201cincluding through extraordinary measures,\u201d to protect its borders and guarantee the safety of its citizens.<\/p>\n

Together with Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani\u2014the most senior ministers representing parties in the Italian right-wing coalition\u2014Meloni demanded the suspension of the Schengen Agreement or the exclusion of Spain from the border-free zone.<\/p>\n

Under the accord, individuals can travel freely between 29 signatory European countries.<\/p>\n

However, several member states have reinstated checks at certain borders, as permitted under the agreement, citing migration risks.<\/p>\n

Italy had previously temporarily reintroduced controls on its border with Slovenia to prevent smuggling and terrorism.<\/p>\n

Tajani went beyond calling for Spain\u2019s exclusion from Schengen, attributing responsibility for the events in Ceuta to the immigration policies of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez, who had promised to legalize hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants.<\/p>\n

The minister characterized the policy as \u201cprofoundly wrong\u201d and claimed it provided \u201can incentive for human trafficking.\u201d<\/p>\n

The remarks provoked a sharp reaction from Spanish Foreign Minister Jos\u00e9 Manuel Albares, who summoned the Italian ambassador to account for Tajani\u2019s statements.<\/p>\n

Replying to Tajani on X, the Spanish minister wrote: \u201cThis message is unbefitting the foreign minister of a partner and friendly country from whom we expect European solidarity, not partisan demagogy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Separately, European Commissioner for Migration Magnus Brunner, who is also an EPP member, stated that the European Commission supports Spain in protecting the integrity of its borders, including Ceuta, and is in contact with Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska regarding the matter.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson stated that the Commission welcomed \u201cthe close cooperation established between Morocco and Spain to combat these migratory flows and to ensure the swift return of individuals who entered Ceuta illegally, in accordance with applicable rules.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it comes to our cooperation with partner countries, Morocco is a key and reliable partner for the EU. In recent years, we have intensified our cooperation in the areas of migration and border management, as well as the fight against smuggling. We are currently working to turn our relations into a comprehensive and strategic partnership,\u201d the spokesperson added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An influx of thousands of migrants entering Spain from neighboring Morocco has plunged the autonomous enclave of Ceuta…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36906,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[19914,24806,24807,469,20996,9005,24701,10967,2097,24808,1415,24809,24810,325,2657,19216,24694,5,7639,24811,24812,24813,3788,24814,24815,1864,8638,24816,8965,148,24817,24818,24819],"class_list":["post-36905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-italy","tag-alberto-nunez-feijoo","tag-alice-weidel","tag-alternative-for-germany","tag-antonio-tajani","tag-bilateral-relations","tag-border-control","tag-ceuta","tag-deportation","tag-european-commission","tag-european-peoples-party","tag-european-union","tag-fernando-grande-marlaska","tag-frontex","tag-giorgia-meloni","tag-headline","tag-human-trafficking","tag-illegal-immigration","tag-italy","tag-jose-manuel-albares","tag-juan-jesus-vivas","tag-magnus-brunner","tag-manfred-weber","tag-matteo-salvini","tag-melilla","tag-migration-crisis","tag-morocco","tag-pedro-sanchez","tag-santiago-abascal","tag-schengen-area","tag-spain","tag-territorial-integrity","tag-undocumented-migrants","tag-vox"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36905\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}