Spain Imposes Border Checks on Italy in Escalating Schengen Spat

Spain has announced it will introduce temporary border checks on visitors from Italy, retaliating against Rome's decision to suspend the Schengen free-travel agreement after a mass rush of people from Morocco into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, according to the Guardian and France 24.

The Spanish government gave Rome until Sunday to restore passport-free travel, Politico Europe reported, with Madrid warning of countermeasures if Italy did not lift its one-month suspension of the Schengen agreement.

The rare spat between two European Union member states came after tens of thousands of people crossed from Morocco to Ceuta in what France 24 described as an unprecedented, deadly rush, with the Guardian reporting a death toll of at least 100 people.