After introducing border control with Italy, Spain refused entry to ten people. The country’s Ministry of the Interior reported this on Saturday, August 8.
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Restrictions will apply for 1 month
The day before, the Spanish government introduced this measure for arrivals from Italy by air and sea. The restrictions will be in effect until September 7 and will apply to both Italian citizens and third-country nationals arriving in the country. During border control, their passports and visas are checked selectively.
The ministry reported that on the first day of the border control’s validity, a total of 199 people arriving on 12 flights from Italy were checked at the airports of Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Bilbao, Alicante, and Valencia.
Spain reacted this way to Italy’s actions
Formally, the Spanish authorities justified the restrictions by the “ongoing pressure of illegal migration” from Italy. A week earlier, Italy introduced similar measures for third-country nationals arriving from Spain. The Italian government motivated its decision by a massive influx of illegal immigrants to Ceuta, a Spanish exclave in Africa.
On August 7, Spain threatened to introduce retaliatory measures for travelers arriving from Italy if Rome did not cancel border controls. The Italian authorities stated that the restrictions would remain at least until August 15, as the country “does not accept ultimatums.”
Meloni threatened to terminate the Schengen agreement with Spain
At the end of July, thousands of migrants from Morocco reached Ceuta – a Spanish exclave in North Africa – by sea, on inflatable rafts and small boats. According to one version, people were prompted to take this step by a decision of the Spanish Supreme Court, which ruled that migrants detained while trying to sail to Ceuta or Melilla cannot be returned by simplified procedures.
To manage the crisis, the Spanish authorities deployed the military in Ceuta. On July 31, the Spanish Ministry of the Interior reported that nearly 50,000 people had illegally entered Ceuta – one of the two land sections of the EU’s external border with the African continent, along with Melilla. Later, the number mentioned was 72,000 people.
Spain and Morocco agreed on the deportation of migrants who illegally entered the exclave – the majority have already returned to Morocco. According to Spanish authorities, 141 people died trying to reach Ceuta.
Due to the situation in the exclave, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni threatened to terminate the Schengen agreement with Spain.
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