Spain Retaliates With Border Checks as Italy Holds Line on Ceuta

Spain said on Friday it would introduce temporary border checks on visitors arriving from Italy, in direct response to Rome imposing the same measures after a mass rush of people from Morocco into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta. The checks come as Madrid warned Italy it would act unless Rome halted its controls by Sunday, according to the Guardian.

The rare dispute between the two EU nations follows an unprecedented, deadly crossing in which tens of thousands of people moved from Morocco into Ceuta, a Spanish territory on the North African coast. The BBC reported that Italy introduced its border controls after an influx of about 78,000 migrants into the exclave.

Italy has refused to back down. Politico Europe reported that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government says it will continue its temporary suspension of the Schengen free-travel agreement until at least Aug. 15, rejecting Madrid's ultimatum.