Spain starts border checks on Italy after migrant row

MADRID: Spain on Saturday started border checks on travellers arriving from Italy, responding to similar measures Rome imposed following a massive migrant rush into the Spanish north African enclave of Ceuta.

"I don't see a lot of the word 'diplomacy' used in these decisions, not by the Italian government, nor by the Spanish government," said one 36-year-old Italian tourist, Maria Celeste Grillo, who had just flown into Madrid.

She said she had not seen any added checks as she stepped off the plane but found their implementation "sad."

Spain announced Friday it would proceed with the heightened controls, citing what it said was "persistent irregular migration pressure" facing Italy—deepening a tit-for-tat row between the EU partners and NATO allies.

Spain's left-wing government has complained that Italy's hard-right government on July 31 unfairly imposed one month of border checks on travellers from Spain—suspending the EU's Schengen Area visa-free travel arrangements—because of the Ceuta influx.

More than 70,000 migrants crossed from Morocco into the enclave on July 30 and 31, though almost all returned to Morocco within 48 hours.

The inflow alarmed European nations, especially right-wing governments urging tougher rules on irregular migrants. However, rules for Ceuta mean migrants cannot travel onward to continental Europe without passing another layer of border checks.

The EU's migration chief Magnus Brunner said he had been in contact with both the Spanish and Italian interior ministers on Saturday and that "both confirmed that the internal border controls are temporary."

"I stressed the progress we've made on tackling illegal migration and that trust between member states is our most valuable currency," Brunner posted on X.

He also said Spanish authorities had provided assurances the Ceuta events "will have no lasting effect on the Schengen area," adding: "That is why there are signals from Italy that controls could be lifted soon."

Spain's interior ministry said the new checks on incoming travellers from Italy would apply until September 7.