Migration: Spanien und Italien kontrollieren Einreisen gegenseitig

In a dispute over migrant management, Spain and Italy have returned to border controls, reminiscent of the pre-Schengen era of free travel across Europe. Since Saturday, Spain has been inspecting arrivals at ports and airports from other countries, under instructions from Madrid's leftist government, with the measure set to last until September 7.

Italy's conservative government has been doing the same to arrivals from Spain since the beginning of the month. The trigger was the temporary exodus of tens of thousands of African migrants to Spain's Moroccan enclave Ceuta. Rome argues that its borders must be protected more fiercely. The decisions are driven by Italy's right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Spain's leftist leader Pedro Sánchez, whose relationship has previously been tense.

Complaints from the tourism industry suggested the checks at ports and airports were superficial and symbolic. However, the tourism sector complained about the strain on businesses during peak summer travel. Millions of tourists travel annually between the two countries - about 5.4 million Italians to Spain and over 3.2 million Spaniards to Italy.

Madrid imposed the controls on Friday evening after Meloni refused to lift unilateral border checks. Party leader of the right-wing Fratelli d Italia (Brothers Italians) refused to be swayed by a Spanish ultimatum, stating, "Italy does not accept ultimatums or dictates from abroad regarding national security and border controls."

Both countries will now inspect travelers again, with Italy's measure set to continue until August 15. Italian tourists in Madrid said they were told upon boarding their flights that they could only disembark with a passport, and Spanish officials only observed that they had one, allowing them to pass through without further inspection.

Meanwhile, Italy's tourism association Fiavet reported significant problems, including long queues, service disruptions, and complications with car rental companies. Tourist agencies were facing difficulties from customers. The Tourism Ministry in Rome stated that controls only applied to non-EU citizens, dismissing complaints about the impact on the tourism industry.

Madrid described Italy's border controls as unfair, against EU interests, and discriminatory, while the Spanish Foreign Minister called Italy's move a "torpedo hitting below the waterline of European unity."