Ceuta border spat reaches the Alps: Mont Blanc tunnel queues

Spain has imposed temporary border checks on travellers arriving from Italy, escalating a rare dispute between the two EU partners over migration, according to France 24 and Deutsche Welle. The move came in retaliation for Rome's own controls, introduced after an influx of migrants into Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco, the BBC reported.

Italy's foreign minister has called Madrid's decision 'incomprehensible and completely unacceptable', the Guardian reported, as travellers between the two countries face delays at airports, ports and land crossings. The EU says the tit-for-tat restrictions are temporary and will have no lasting impact on the Schengen zone, France 24 added.

For Valle d'Aosta, the fallout arrives at the Mont Blanc tunnel, the region's main gateway to France and a vital artery for summer tourism and cross-border trade. With Spain's checks now in force, the knock-on effect on Alpine routes is being felt, though the precise scale of delays at the tunnel has not been confirmed by the foreign press.