Spain to introduce border checks on visitors from Italy
What's the story
Spain will impose temporary border checks on visitors from Italy, starting at midnight Saturday until September 7. The decision comes after Italy introduced similar measures amid "persistent irregular migration pressure." Spain's Interior Ministry announced the reciprocal measures in response to Italy's month-long border controls on arrivals from Spain. Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares criticized Italy's actions as "unfair" and "discriminatory," urging Rome to reconsider its stance.
Standoff continues
Italy stands firm on border checks
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has refused to revise the decision before August 15, citing national security concerns.
Her office stated on Friday, "Italy does not accept ultimatums or impositions from abroad regarding national security and border control."
"Only when there is certainty that there are no security or terrorism risks to Italy, that no new wave is occurring, and that no irregular migrants are heading toward European territory, will the decision be reconsidered."
Border dispute
Spain slams Italy's actions
Within hours, Spain threatened Italy with countermeasures if it did not swiftly lift its own border checks.
Spain slammed Italy's decision to impose border checks on third-country nationals arriving from Spain as "unfair" and "discriminatory."
Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares called it a "torpedo fired at the hull of European unity."
He warned of possible "proportional measures" by Sunday if Italy doesn't lift its checks.
Migration crisis
Border dispute fueled by migrant crisis
The border dispute was triggered by an unprecedented influx of migrants from Morocco to Spain's Ceuta territory on July 30-31.
Of the 72,000 who entered Ceuta, 70,000 have returned to Morocco.
Spanish authorities reported 80 deaths in the crossings, but Moroccan rights groups put the figure at over 140.
The situation angered EU members that back a hard line on irregular immigration, including Italy, which enforced one-month border inspections on people entering from Spain.