Spain-Italy Border Spat Deepens as Schengen Suspension Persists

Spain announced Friday it will introduce temporary border checks on travellers arriving from Italy, retaliating against Rome's one-month suspension of the Schengen free-travel agreement introduced after a mass rush of migrants into Ceuta. The checks come amid a rare and escalating spat between two EU member states that do not share a land border, according to the Guardian.

The crisis began when about 78,000 people crossed from Morocco into Spain's North African exclave of Ceuta in an unprecedented, deadly rush, prompting Italy to impose border controls on visitors from Spain, the BBC reported. Spain had warned Italy it would impose entry checks unless Rome halted its controls by Sunday, Deutsche Welle said.