Giorgia Meloni had promised: “We will not stand idly by” in the face of the migration crisis in Ceuta. One day later, the Italian Government has taken action.
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The Ministry of the Interior has ordered the temporary reintroduction of controls in the Schengen area for travelers coming from Spain for one month. The decision was made by the Committee for Analysis on Immigration and Border Security following the migration crisis in Ceuta.
In practice, border controls are reinstated. The Border Police will carry out selective inspections, mainly targeting third-country nationals, to verify that they have the necessary documentation to travel within the Schengen area.
On the other hand, following a phone conversation between the Italian Interior Minister, Matteo Piantedosi, and his French counterpart, Laurent Nuñez, the two countries have agreed to strengthen controls along the land border between them, within the framework of cooperation agreements between the police forces signed.
An indirect response had arrived shortly before from Pedro Sánchez. “Solidarity and empathy are optional. Respect for European treaties and data is not,” wrote the Spanish Prime Minister on X, alongside a graphic with the figures of irregular entries recorded by Frontex between 2021 and 2026: 478,600 through Italy, 340,600 via the Western Balkans route, 259,800 through Greece, 234,760 through Spain, and 48,000 through the eastern border.
“This is not the time to divide us. It is time to continue building a strong and united European Union,” added the Spanish president.
Read more Sánchez condemns the “violation of Spain’s territorial integrity”: “We defend Ceuta like the M-30”
The first response from the Executive came from the Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, who summoned the Italian ambassador to Spain to protest the proposal to exclude Spain from the European common area.
Soon after, the Italian Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, responded defending the Meloni Government’s decision. “The temporary suspension of Schengen with Spain is a necessary decision to protect the security of our citizens and defend European borders. It is a measure provided for by the treaties and today it is unavoidable,” he wrote on X. Tajani added that “the migration crisis in Ceuta reminds us that the management of the Union’s borders is a shared responsibility among all member states.” And he concluded: “We must work together to prevent uncontrolled flows of migrants from entering EU territory, with all the risks this entails and with the threat of terrorism, which must be fought without hesitation.”
The Italian opposition responded harshly. “Our Government’s attitude towards Spain is simply vile,” said Andrea Orlando, one of the main leaders of the Democratic Party (center-left).
Even more forceful was the former prime minister and leader of the Five Star Movement, Giuseppe Conte, who accused the Meloni Executive of “scavenger politics.” “It attacks Spain even going so far as to claim the suspension of Schengen. It has forgotten that, in the summer of 2023, it was sending desperate letters to the European Commission and Ursula von der Leyen to come to Lampedusa, after 6,000 migrants landed there in a single day,” he declared.
