Ceuta crisis: Eye for an eye: Spain announces border controls with Italy

Spain announces border controls with Italy over Ceuta migration crisis. Starting at midnight on Saturday, travelers from Italy will be randomly checked at ports and airports until September 7th, according to a decree published by the Spanish government in Madrid. The checks will verify the identity and citizenship of travelers, and in the case of third-country nationals, their visa or residence permit.

The Spanish government cited "ongoing pressure from irregular migration" as the reason for the controls. The left-wing Spanish administration reacted to Italy's refusal to renew the border controls it had imposed on Ceuta, a North African exclave, since last Saturday. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stated that Italy would not bow to any ultimatums or external dictates regarding national security and border control.

Italy will maintain its controls at least until August 15th and as long as necessary to eliminate "security and terrorism risks for Italy." Spain views the border controls as unfair, counter to EU interests, and discriminatory towards its own population. Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares called Italy's actions a "torpedo below the waterline of European unity."

Italy has no land border with Spain, and the migrants who entered Ceuta have mostly returned to Morocco. There are currently no indications that migrants in Ceuta intended to travel to Italy. Remaining migrants in Ceuta are neither in the Schengen area nor on European mainland. Critics accuse Meloni's government of politically motivated symbolism.

The right-wing party "Futuro Nazionale" of former army general Roberto Vannacci, which recently joined Meloni's coalition government, has gained significant support from parts of the voter base of the ruling parties due to its highly migration-critical rhetoric.