Italy and Spain extend mutual air and sea border controls for 15 days

Italian border check extension

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi announced on 15 September that Rome has prolonged the suspension of Schengen rules regarding arrivals from Spain for an additional 15 days. The measure maintains selective police checks at air and sea entry points for passengers arriving from Spanish ports and airports. The decision followed a morning evaluation by the Committee for the Analysis of Immigration and Border Security, which concluded that domestic security requirements justify the controls. The Italian Interior Ministry formally communicated the extension through official notes sent to the European Commission and European Union interior ministers. Italian authorities cited ongoing concerns over internal safety alongside possible risks of terrorist infiltration.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani stated that the decision focuses on border security rather than political confrontation.

“It is not an attitude against anyone, it is not a political position. Our problem is ensuring internal security and the borders.”

Spanish diplomatic reaction

Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares rejected Rome's justifications during remarks at the Spanish Senate, calling the policy an attack on European solidarity. Albares pointed out that Italy currently records double the volume of irregular migrant arrivals compared to Spain. He recalled that Madrid did not impose travel checks during the 2023 Lampedusa arrivals, noting that Spain instead relocated migrants to its own territory to assist Rome. Albares also appealed to domestic opposition parties, asking the People's Party and Vox to intervene with their Italian allies Forza Italia and Brothers of Italy.

“It is absurd, it is useless and it is a shame because it undermines the spirit, the philosophy of what it means to be European partners.”

Origin of the Ceuta dispute

The bilateral friction originated after the migration crisis in Spain's North African exclave of Ceuta at the end of July 2026. Italy first introduced air and sea border controls on 1 August for a 30-day term, which Rome previously extended by 15 days before Tuesday's decision. Spain introduced its own random checks on arrivals from Italy on 8 August, initially set for one month and later stretched to 23 September. Following Rome's latest move, Spanish authorities extended Madrid's counter-measures until 8 October. Madrid and Italian opposition lawmakers criticized the Italian restrictions, arguing that Italy shares no land border with Spain and that travellers leaving Ceuta already undergo standard European Union document checks.

European legal framework

European Union rules allow member states to reintroduce internal border checks as a last resort in exceptional circumstances, requiring all measures to remain strictly limited in duration. Rome justified the continuing restrictions by pointing to the situation in Ceuta, where local authorities reported thousands of stranded migrants following the July events. Non-governmental organisations recorded that over 140 people died during border crossing attempts, while Italian officials stated that several detained individuals had previously been expelled from European countries for offences linked to international terrorism.