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Italy extended its temporary border checks on arrivals from Spain by just seven days on Friday, in a sign of thawing relations between Rome and Madrid after weeks of tensions over migration.
The decision followed a one-on-one meeting between Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her Spanish counterpart, Pedro Sánchez, on the sidelines of the EU summit in Brussels, a diplomat told Euronews.
The border checks were initially introduced on 1 August for one month, following the arrival of almost 90,000 irregular migrants in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta. The Italian government subsequently extended them by 15 days on three separate occasions, de facto suspending free-circulation rules with Spain.
Spain introduced a reciprocal measure, also renewed each time, in retaliation for the checks, which it considered unjustified. The latest Spanish extension was due to expire on 22 October. As a result, the two countries’ measures are now aligned and will expire on the same day.
The interior ministers of the two countries are expected to work out alternative measures next week, according to Italian and Spanish diplomatic sources.
The random controls are currently happening at airports and ports, as the two countries have no land borders.
Almost 500,000 people were checked in the first month of border controls, according to the Italian Interior Minister. Thirty-one of them, including eight Moroccan citizens, were refused entry, while the Minister did not indicate whether they had entered Spain with the massive influx to Ceuta.
According to the Spanish government, no irregular migrants have moved to mainland Spain from Ceuta.
Meloni, who leads a far-right government, and Sánchez, a centre-left leader, have repeatedly clashed over migration policy.
They are also set to find themselves on opposite sides at Friday’s European summit, where migration is once again on EU leaders’ agenda, with a strategic discussion scheduled over lunch.
Among other topics, Spain’s plan to regularize around 600,000 undocumented migrants will be discussed. Several countries are concerned about a possible domino effect across the EU and the risk that the measure could act as a “pull factor”, attracting more irregular migrants.