Μake us preferred on Google Italy is extending its border controls with Spain for another 15 days, as Rome continues to view the situation in Ceuta as unresolved in the wake of the recent migration crisis there.
According to Euronews, the Italian government is notifying the European Union of the extension of temporary checks at its air and sea borders with Spain, with the formal notice already underway.
Italy’s Interior Ministry said the assessments behind the extension were discussed in a phone call described as constructive between Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi and his Spanish counterpart, Fernando Grande-Marlaska.
The checks had been set to expire on Monday, August 31, but Rome opted to extend them, judging that conditions in Ceuta have yet to settle down.
Citing Euronews, Piantedosi had said in recent days that between 5,000 and 10,000 migrants remain in the Spanish enclave following the arrival of at least 60,000 people in late July, a surge that has stirred tension and pushback from the local community.
“The situation in Ceuta is far from having improved,” the Italian minister said in a Tg1 interview on August 28, leaving the door open to extending the checks.
Piantedosi also stressed that the move isn’t aimed at Madrid, and that the checks apply only to third-country nationals, with no impact on Italian, Spanish, or other European citizens.
Rome’s decision has nonetheless drawn criticism from the Spanish government. Foreign Minister Manuel Albares called the checks “an unjustified and unacceptable affront to the dignity of Spaniards,” arguing that the Meloni government’s move is driven by electoral calculations.
