Ceuta border row reaches Calabria's ports and ferry routes

Spain announced Friday it will introduce temporary border controls on travellers arriving from Italy, retaliating for Rome's one-month suspension of free movement under the Schengen agreement after a mass rush of people from Morocco into Ceuta. The Spanish government gave Italy until Sunday to lift the checks, according to Politico Europe, warning of countermeasures if Rome does not comply.

The dispute between the two EU members has escalated quickly. Italy imposed its controls after an influx of about 78,000 migrants from Morocco into Ceuta, a Spanish exclave on the North African coast, in an unprecedented and deadly rush that left at least 100 people dead, according to the Guardian's Europe live blog. Spain's foreign ministry said the checks on Italian visitors would come 'amid' the ongoing standoff, the Guardian reported.

Italy's government, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, has said it will not take orders from Spain and will continue its temporary suspension of Schengen until at least August 15, Politico Europe reported. The rare public spat between two EU partners has raised questions about the durability of Europe's border-free zone at a moment of renewed migration pressure on the continent's southern flank.