Spain to Reintroduce Border Checks on Italy Flights and Ships
Spain will impose passport and visa checks on arrivals from Italy from Saturday until September 7, citing migration pressure.
Spain announced on Friday that it will temporarily reintroduce border controls on all flights and ships arriving from Italy, a move that escalates a dispute between the two European neighbours over irregular migration.
The measures take effect at midnight on Saturday and will remain in place until September 7. During this period, Spanish authorities will conduct passport, nationality, and visa checks on Italian citizens as well as on travellers of other nationalities arriving from Italian territory.
Madrid said the decision was driven by "persistent irregular migratory pressure" originating from the Alpine country. The Spanish government framed the controls as a reciprocal response, noting they will apply while Italy maintains its own measures linked to a mass migration surge.
That surge involved an estimated 72,000 people arriving at Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta on July 30, an event that has strained relations between the two governments. The new border regime marks a significant step in the ongoing disagreement over how to manage migration flows across the Mediterranean and into European Union territory.