Spain and Italy trade border checks as Ceuta row deepens

Spain announced Friday that it would introduce temporary border checks on visitors arriving from Italy, in retaliation for Rome imposing similar measures after a mass rush of people from Morocco into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, according to the Guardian and France 24.

The rare spat between two European Union member states escalated after tens of thousands of people crossed from Morocco into Ceuta in an unprecedented and deadly rush. The Guardian reported that Spain's move came in response to Rome's decision to suspend the Schengen free-travel agreement for one month, a measure Italy introduced after the influx of about 78,000 migrants from Morocco into Ceuta, the BBC reported.

Even though the two countries do not share a land border, the dispute has drawn in the bloc's core principle of passport-free travel. Politico Europe reported that the Spanish government has given Rome until Sunday to restore passport-free travel and end the crackdown instituted amid the Ceuta crisis.