Spain and Italy are preparing to restore travel without routine border checks on their air and sea connections, following a diplomatic dispute triggered by the summer migration crisis in Ceuta.
Rome announced on Friday that it would retain its temporary controls on passengers arriving from Spain for another seven days, while the two governments arrange their coordinated withdrawal. Italian officials said the short extension would bring the measures into line with Spain’s reciprocal controls, which are scheduled to remain in force until 22 October.
The announcement signals a move towards ending a confrontation that has affected travellers between the two countries for more than two months. However, the checks remain in place while ministers work out the arrangements for lifting them.
Spain’s interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, and his Italian counterpart, Matteo Piantedosi, will lead those discussions. Italian government sources told Spain’s EFE news agency that a bilateral meeting would take place next week, during which the ministers would ‘jointly assess alternative cooperation measures’.
Spanish government sources confirmed to RTVE that the ministers would ‘work throughout this week to proceed with their removal’. Although the accounts differed slightly on the timing of the discussions, both governments indicated that the purpose was to replace the reciprocal controls with agreed cooperation arrangements.
Checks on air and sea passengers
The restrictions cover passengers travelling from Spain to Italy and those making the reverse journey, with checks at airports and ports temporarily interrupting the usual arrangements for travel within the Schengen area. The European Commission’s published notifications list both countries’ measures as applying to their internal air and sea borders with the other.
Italy’s latest extension was announced on the day its previous authorisation was due to expire. Rather than allowing the controls to lapse immediately, Rome opted for a further week to coordinate their removal with Madrid.
Italian sources said the decision followed talks between the two governments. The details of the alternative cooperation measures have yet to be announced.
A dispute rooted in the Ceuta arrivals
Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government introduced the controls following the mass arrival of migrants in Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta from neighbouring Morocco at the end of July. Madrid subsequently imposed equivalent checks on arrivals from Italy. ALSO READ: Spain imposes reciprocal border checks on Italy as Schengen dispute escalates.
Defending its decision, the Italian government said: ‘The aim is to strengthen the protection of European borders, also as a guarantee of national security, as well as to prevent and combat possible terrorist threats.’
Spain strongly rejected that justification. Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares described the Italian measure as ‘absurd’ and a ‘disgrace’. ALSO READ: Ceuta crisis sparks emergency EU meeting requests as Sánchez rejects Schengen criticism.
Successive extensions prolonged the disagreement, turning the passenger checks into a recurring source of friction between the two governments. ALSO READ: Spain and Italy extend border checks as diplomatic row over Ceuta deepens.
Migration differences remain
The planned withdrawal emerged as Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Meloni attended the summit of the EU’s 27 national leaders in Brussels, which concludes on Friday.
Migration was scheduled as the final item on the summit’s agenda, providing a wider political backdrop to the bilateral discussions. ALSO READ: PM Sánchez defends Spain’s immigration model, urging Europe to take note.
Ending the controls would remove one immediate point of contention between Madrid and Rome. It would not, however, resolve their broader differences over migration policy, which have repeatedly put the two governments at odds in recent weeks. ALSO READ: Trump warns Spain ‘will be a ruined country’ as Ceuta crisis takes international turn.
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