The Spanish government will continue checks at ports and airports on travelers arriving from Italy for another 15 days after Italy extended its suspension of free movement under the Schengen Agreement. The checks will remain in place until September 22.
Spain's Interior Ministry announced that the measure, which began on August 7 and was originally due to end on September 7, had been extended. The ministry said that since August 8, it had tracked 1,066 flights arriving via Italy and carrying a total of 12,000 passengers from third countries.
Reciprocal decisions by the two countries
The Italian government suspended free movement with Spain under the Schengen Agreement on August 1, citing national security concerns arising from the irregular migration crisis in Ceuta. Italy introduced border checks for passengers traveling by sea and air to Spain, which has no land border with Italy.
The Spanish government asked Rome to lift the restrictions but, after receiving no result, responded on August 7. Madrid announced that passengers traveling by sea and air from Italy to Spain would be subject to border checks until September 7.
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said the decision to extend the measure was taken after consultations with experts. Piantedosi said expert analyses showed that the reasons for the measures remained valid, and praised the Spanish government's efforts, together with the European Union, to overcome the situation.
Spain's Interior Ministry announced its decision to extend the checks shortly after Piantedosi's statement.
The irregular migration crisis in Ceuta
Irregular migration movements toward Ceuta are at the center of the political tensions between Italy and Spain. On July 30 and 31, approximately 70,000 irregular migrants crossed by sea and land from the coast of Fnideq in Morocco to Ceuta, Spain's territory in North Africa.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced that the government had mobilized all available resources in response to the incident. The Spanish government decided to deploy the armed forces to the region to ensure security after an increase in attempts to enter Ceuta.
Sanchez said that approximately 5,000 irregular migrants remained in Ceuta, including 1,200 children.
The border-control decisions taken by the two countries were not fully implemented. No checks were carried out at airports on many flights.
