Spain gives Italy August 9 deadline to end border checks or face proportionate countermeasures

Spain's ultimatum

The Spanish government on Friday set Italy a deadline of August 9 to end the selective border checks it reintroduced on August 1 for air and sea passengers arriving from Spain. In an official statement issued after a video conference chaired by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Madrid warned it would adopt "proportionate" countermeasures if Rome failed to comply. Spain described Italy's decision as "unjust, contrary to the interests of the EU, and discriminatory against the Spanish population," adopted "without prior notice, unilaterally, and on spurious grounds that comply neither with the Schengen Borders Code nor with the truth." The Spanish government urged Rome to "rectify" and treat Spaniards like the rest of European citizens. Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares had expressed harsher criticism of Italy in previous days.

Italy's justification

Italy suspended its Schengen arrangements with Spain following the arrival of tens of thousands of migrants in the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta last week. The checks, initially set to last one month, target third-country nationals arriving from Spain to verify they hold proper documentation for Schengen-area travel. Since there is no direct land border between Italy and Spain, the measures affect only air and sea connections, including flights from Madrid, Barcelona, Ibiza, and Valencia, and ferries from Catalonia. Italy also coordinated with France for reinforced joint controls along the Italo-French border at Ventimiglia, the Frejus tunnel, and Mont Blanc. Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi defended the move during an emergency video conference of EU ministers this week.

It is a precautionary and organizational decision, intended to safeguard national security and the integrity of the entire European control system at a time of significant strain, as has occurred in many other cases.

He added that the measure was "in no way a measure directed against Spain or any other partner" and expressed Italy's "sincere solidarity" with Spain over the Ceuta crisis.

The Ceuta crisis

Between 70,000 and 72,000 migrants entered Ceuta over a couple of days last week, according to differing Spanish and Italian media accounts. Spanish officials stressed that Ceuta holds a special status and that entry to the enclave does not automatically grant access to the Schengen area. Most migrants have since returned to Morocco. The mass arrival was reportedly triggered by fake news circulating on social media claiming Spanish borders were fully open, with similar false reports now resurfacing around August 15. According to Fanpage, 141 people died attempting to cross the border. Spanish police separately announced the dismantling of one of the largest migrant smuggling networks in the Mediterranean, arresting 78 people and seizing 18 high-speed vessels.

Spain's counterarguments

Madrid argued the Italian checks have disrupted the mobility of "thousands of passengers" and created "legal uncertainty in the middle of the summer season," describing the measure as without recent precedent. Spain further pointed to Frontex data showing Italy recorded the highest number of irregular crossings among EU member states in recent years, with figures double those of Spain. Since 2022, Spain charged, Italy has not respected the Dublin Regulation, generating additional migratory pressure on other member states. Despite this, Spain said it never introduced border controls against Italy and demonstrated solidarity by accepting migrants who arrived in Lampedusa in 2023 and repeatedly opening its ports to migrants rescued on the Central Mediterranean route. Madrid concluded that governments should promote understanding between countries rather than create divisions and sterile conflicts fueled by internal electoral motivations.

Minors and ongoing situation

Dozens of unaccompanied minors who entered Ceuta irregularly last week began presenting themselves at local police stations for identification. Officially, 528 unaccompanied minors had been registered, but many had avoided reception centers for fear of repatriation. After word spread that identification was necessary to be placed under the protection of the Autonomous City, the number of identified minors rose to 1,017 as of August 7 and was expected to increase. Meanwhile, the Spanish Civil Guard recovered the body of a young sub-Saharan migrant who crashed into the sea while attempting to enter Ceuta with a paraglider launched from the mountains of Benzú.