Spanish authorities began carrying out temporary border checks at its ports and airports for travelers arriving from Italy. The random checks came into effect at midnight on 8th August and will remain in place until September 7. The action is a response to similar measures imposed by Rome following the massive influx of migrants into Ceuta.
These checks are focusing particularly “on passengers who are nationals of non-EU countries, to verify compliance with the requirements of the Schengen Border Code,” the Ministry of the Interior said.
On the flights being checked, which do not involve all flights or all passengers, officers carry out the checks at the exit of the jet bridge leading off the plane, without disrupting the flow of passengers. This rare rift between two EU and NATO allies comes after 72,000 migrants crossed the border from Morocco into the Spanish territory of Ceuta in North Africa last week, in a movement of unprecedented scale.
This latest action introduced by the Spanish government was sharply criticized by EU member countries that favor a tough stance on irregular immigration and the protection of the bloc’s external borders, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
‘Unfair’ decision
The Italian government said that it had “no intention whatsoever of reversing its decision to suspend the application of the Schengen Agreement (on the free movement of people, editor’s note) to third-country nationals arriving from Spain.” The Spanish government slammed this Italian measure, calling it “unfair, contrary to the EU’s interests, and discriminatory against the Spanish population.”
