Spain has introduced checks for Italians in response to Rome's actions
The Spanish government has introduced border checks for travelers from Italy in response to the controls that Rome has been applying since August 1 to Spanish citizens arriving by sea or air. According to Fortune, citing the Associated Press, police have begun conducting random checks on Italians upon their arrival at Barcelona Airport.
Madrid stated that the checks will remain in effect for at least a month. The decision was made after Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni rejected Spain’s warning: Madrid had stated that it would take proportionate measures to protect the interests and dignity of its citizens if Rome did not lift its own restrictions by August 9.
Meloni’s office stated that Italian authorities do not plan to lift checks on people arriving from Spain by sea or air until at least August 15. They also emphasized that Italy does not accept ultimatums or demands from abroad regarding national security and border control.
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The dispute between the countries escalated after 72,000 migrants arrived from Morocco in Ceuta—a Spanish territory in North Africa—in late July. According to Spanish and Moroccan authorities, more than 80 people died, including those who drowned or were crushed in a stampede while attempting to cross the breakwater barrier. Most of the arrivals were subsequently returned.
Meloni criticized the immigration policy of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. Specifically, she referred to Spain’s decision to grant amnesty to people without residence permits who could prove they had lived in the country for at least five months and had arrived in Spain before January 1 of this year. By the time the application period closed at the end of July, more than one million people had applied for amnesty.
The EU notes that member states may temporarily reinstate controls at the internal borders of the Schengen Area in the event of a serious threat, particularly to internal security. At the same time, such measures must be exceptional, time-limited, and applied only as a last resort.
