“Solidarity and empathy are optional. Respect for European treaties and data is not,” he said.
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Sanchez: more illegal migrants through Italy than Spain
Based on the latest data collected by the EU border agency Frontex on illegal arrivals to the bloc, he noted that more people arrived in the EU via Italy, the Western Balkans, and Greece than through Spain.
“Now is not the time to divide. It is time to continue building a strong and united EU,” he said.
Italy calls to expel Spain from the Schengen zone
15min reminds that top-ranking Italian politicians have called to expel Spain from the Schengen zone, reported the portal Politico. These tensions were fueled by events in Spain’s Ceuta territory in Africa, where thousands of incoming migrants reportedly stormed the Spanish enclave.
Images quickly spread on social media showing migrants flooding into Spanish territory off the coast of Morocco. This sparked a storm of reactions from anti-immigration activists and politicians.
“The images from Ceuta are shocking and once again show that uncontrolled illegal immigration poses a real threat to the security of Europe’s borders,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni complained on the social network X.
“We are ready to take action – including extraordinary measures – to defend our borders and ensure the safety of our citizens,” she added.
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G. Meloni, together with Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani – the highest-ranking ministers from each party of Italy’s ruling right-wing coalition – called to suspend the Schengen agreement or remove Spain from the free movement zone.
Under this agreement, people can travel freely between 29 European countries that signed the treaty. However, several countries, citing migration risks, have reintroduced checks at some of their borders, which is allowed under the agreement. Italy has also temporarily reinstated checks at the border with Slovenia in an attempt to curb smuggling and terrorism.
However, A. Tajani did not limit himself to calls to remove Spain from the Schengen area – he blamed the unrest in Ceuta on the migration policy of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, which promises to legalize hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants, calling it “completely wrong” and emphasizing that it “encourages human trafficking.”
Spain’s response
This provoked a strong reaction from Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares, who, showing diplomatic displeasure, summoned the Italian ambassador.
“Such a statement is inappropriate from the foreign minister of a partner and friendly country, from whom we expect European solidarity, not biased demagogy,” he retorted in a public response to the head of Italian diplomacy on the social network X.
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