Italy calls Spain's border checks 'unacceptable' amid Ceuta crisis

Italy's foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, has described Spain's newly implemented border checks on travelers arriving from Italy as "unacceptable" and "impossible to accept." The Guardian reported that Spain initiated these checks between Saturday and Sunday nights.

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The situation needs to be brought under control. We are not against Spain, but we have a duty to protect our borders.

This move by Spain is a direct response to Italy's earlier decision to inspect travelers arriving from Spain. That Italian decision followed events late last month, when tens of thousands of people arrived in Ceuta, Spain's enclave in North Africa, from Morocco.

"The situation needs to be brought under control. We are not against Spain, but we have a duty to protect our borders," Tajani stated in an interview with Italian media outlet La Stampa, according to The Guardian. Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares told reporters that the Italian checks at Italian airports had led to "intolerable" situations. Albares characterized the measure as an "attack on the dignity of the Spanish people."

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intolerable situations

Spain plans to continue its border checks until September 7. Relations between Spain and Italy have soured since the Ceuta border crisis began. Italy had previously announced it would freeze the Schengen agreement with Spain, a decision it has not reversed even though most of those who crossed the border have since returned or been returned to Morocco. Italy's border checks are set to remain in place until at least August 15, according to the Italian government.

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attack on the dignity of the Spanish people.