Italy and Spain have agreed to lift border controls on each other’s citizens. The move ends a three-month standoff between Rome and Madrid.
The dispute began after a mass surge of migrants and asylum seekers entered the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi and Spanish counterpart Fernando Grande-Marlaska spoke on the phone to resolve the issue.
Both officials agreed not to extend their suspension of the European Union’s open-border Schengen arrangements, according to an Italian statement released on Thursday.
The Italian ministry stated that the decision followed a careful assessment of the situation. It will be accompanied by enhanced information-sharing measures to ensure the full security of the common Schengen area.
This resolution followed a meeting between Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. The two leaders conferred on the sidelines of a European Council meeting.
Italy’s right-wing government initially suspended its open-border arrangements with Spain on July 31. Rome stated at the time that it wanted to ensure no migrants entering the North African enclave of Ceuta could travel to Italian territory.
Madrid responded by taking similar action against Rome. The Spanish government described the Italian measures as unjust, contrary to European Union interests, and discriminatory to the population of Spain.
The tit-for-tat border closures occurred after upwards of 70,000 people swam around barricades and entered Ceuta from neighbouring Morocco on July 30 and 31. The mass crossing fuelled acute tension in the Spanish territory.
Most of the arrivals returned to Morocco within hours. Thousands of people, including unaccompanied minors, remained for weeks in often dire conditions.
Ruben Gonzalez, a Ceuta resident, described the local frustration regarding the prolonged presence. "We thought our government was going to do something in the short or medium term, but we’ve been here for two months, and these people haven’t been sent back," Gonzalez said.
The Spanish government’s handling of the mass crossing complicated Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s bid for re-election in November. Sanchez was already facing criticism over a decision to open a path to legal status for hundreds of thousands of undocumented foreign residents.
Following the incident at the enclave, far-right Vox and centre-right PP parties accused Sanchez of being soft on immigration. These political opponents placed the migration issue at the centre of their campaigns in the run-up to elections.
