A war of words has broken out between Spain and Italy over a Schengen Zone suspension following the ongoing migrant crisis in Ceuta.
Madrid has threatened to impose countermeasures on travellers from Italy if Rome did not the lift the border controls it imposed after last week’s influx of migrants into the North African exclave.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wrote on X: “This is an extraordinary measure, adopted to safeguard national security and prevent possible repercussions for our nation.”
However, officials in Madrid argued Italy’s measures were “unjust, contrary to European Union interests and discriminatory to the population of Spain”.
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The move came after Spain said it had largely reversed the rush of migrants into Ceuta, with most of the more than 50,000 people who had crossed into the enclave returning voluntarily to Morocco.
Critics of Ms Meloni’s right-wing government dismissed the new border checks as largely symbolic, saying there was no indication that migrants arriving in Ceuta had any desire to travel onwards to Italy.
Ms Meloni’s coalition, which came to power in 2022 promising to reduce illegal immigration, has faced strong pressure from a new hard-right party led by former army general Roberto Vannacci, whose anti-migrant rhetoric has resonated with some Italian voters.
With migration once again dominating headlines, Rome has sought to promote a tough stance on security, however centre-left opponents accused the government of pandering to populists and undermining ties with Spain.
Madrid argued no migrants who reached Ceuta in an irregular manner last week were able to enter freely into Schengen under the enclave’s migration rules.
Piero De Luca, a senior lawmaker with the opposition Democratic Party in Rome, said: “The problem is that this is a purely demagogic proposal, as usual designed for domestic consumption and to compete with Vannacci, without solving anything at all.”
The Schengen Area allows passport-free travel across 29 European countries.
Under Schengen regulations, member states can temporarily reintroduce border controls on security or public-order grounds.
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Spain’s Youth Minister has said she hoped to start transferring migrant minors from Spain’s enclave of Ceuta to the mainland within weeks.
Sira Rego said 1,342 minors had been registered so far and more staff would be brought from the mainland to help the effort.
She told reporters: “We are prioritising girls, and boys and girls who are under 13.”
A diplomatic source in Morocco said Rabat has “committed, in line with high royal instructions issued to the interior and foreign affairs ministries, to work towards identifying unaccompanied minors with a view to their return to their homeland.”
Spanish authorities say 72,000 migrants crossed during the influx last week, while Moroccan authorities said about 40,000 people were involved.
The incident sent shockwaves across Europe and northern Africa, with the EU’s Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner saying the bloc should use all available leverage, including visa and trade policy, to secure cooperation from Morocco on migration.
He said: “One very important reminder from Ceuta is that to have control, we must cooperate with our neighbours.
“But as long as control depends on the goodwill of one neighbouring state, we remain… vulnerable.”
Ceuta mayor Juan Jesus Vivas told lawmakers on Thursday that around 100 people had died during the mass crossing and that between 3,000 and 5,000 migrants remained in the enclave.
“I reiterate this today, having seen what I have seen: Morocco is not a reliable country,” he said.
However he added responsibility for Europe’s only land border with Africa should rest with Europe rather than Morocco.
On Monday, Rabat rejected suggestions it was responsible for the surge, saying Madrid should have anticipated the consequences of a court ruling that migrants arriving by swimming could not be immediately deported if no physical border barrier had been crossed.
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