Spain imposes border checks on Italian travelers in migrant row retaliation

Spain has imposed border controls on Italian travelers, a tit-for-tat response to Italy's earlier sanctions on Spanish citizens. The move escalates a diplomatic spat between the two EU nations over migration.

Italians arriving at Barcelona airport faced random police checks after the new controls took effect overnight. The Spanish government stated the measures would remain for at least a month. This action follows Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's rejection of Spain's warning to lift its own restrictions by an August 9 deadline.

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proportionate measures to protect the interests and dignity of its citizens

Italy had begun enforcing air and sea border controls on Spanish citizens on August 1. This was after Meloni sharply criticized the progressive migration policies of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. The conflict ignited after a sudden influx of 72,000 migrants from Morocco into Ceuta, a Spanish territory in North Africa, late last month. While most migrants have since departed, Spanish and Moroccan authorities reported over 80 deaths, including drownings and stampedes.

The migrant surge has also revived the immigration debate within the European Union. Leaders criticized Sanchez's policies, suggesting they contributed to the massive influx. Some hawkish leaders, like Meloni, pointed to specific Spanish policies, such as an amnesty for immigrants without residency permits who could prove they had lived in the country for at least five months prior to January 1. Over a million people applied before the window closed at the end of last month. The EU's Schengen area allows visa-free travel among member states, but allows temporary reintroduction of internal border controls in cases of serious threats to security. However, such controls are meant to be a last resort and time-limited.

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