Even though the crisis in Ceuta seems—perhaps only for the time being—to be easing, Spain and Italy are keeping up their strong rhetoric, with both sides threatening retaliation.
Rome’s decision last week to suspend the Schengen Agreement for arrivals from Spain, thereby reinstating border controls, has infuriated Madrid.
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Today, Friday, Spain threatened Italy with retaliatory measures if border controls are not lifted immediately.
Over the course of two days—last Thursday and Friday—approximately 78,000 migrants crossed into the Spanish territory of Ceuta, including Moroccans as well as people from sub-Saharan African countries. The vast majority have left Ceuta, but nearly 1,400 minors, some of whom are “very young boys and girls,” still remain in Ceuta. Approximately 100 have lost their lives.
Spain today set a deadline of Sunday, August 9, and added that it would take “proportionate measures” (which it did not specify) if Italy does not reverse its decision.
Spain’s response came immediately: on the one hand, it emphasized that it does not accept “ultimatums or impositions” from Madrid, and on the other hand, that the measures will remain in place at least until August 15, the date on which, as it states, Spain “expects a new wave of migration” to Ceuta. He also made it clear that he would not reconsider this decision “until terrorist and security risks have been ruled out.”
Late that night, the Spanish government announced that it was reinstating border controls at the country’s airports and ports for travelers arriving from Italy, in response to similar measures taken by Rome.
According to the Spanish Ministry of the Interior, passport and visa checks will be conducted on Italian passengers as well as visitors from other countries arriving in Spain via Italy, “due to the ongoing migration pressure” facing Italy.
The measures are temporary. They will take effect at midnight tonight, local time (1:00 a.m. Greek time), and will remain in effect until September 7.
Questions That Need Answers
In any case, this marks a new low in relations between Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni, who generally calls for stricter rules on immigration in the EU.
But the question remains unanswered: Why did tens of thousands of migrants try to cross into Ceuta?
The European Commissioner for Migration, Magnus Bruner, suggested that criminal networks spreading misinformation are to blame—a position with which the Spanish government agrees. The crossings took place following a ruling by the Spanish Supreme Court, according to which migrants apprehended at sea while attempting to reach Ceuta or Melilla cannot be immediately returned to Morocco.
Morocco, for its part, blamed the court for the crisis, with an anonymous government source telling local media that “the deterrent element of the system collapsed and the barrier broke, not under the weight of criminals, but under the weight of a judge’s decision.”
It is also unclear why Moroccan border guards did not attempt to stop the migrants.
Meanwhile, the crisis in Ceuta also had a European dimension.
Italy’s decision to suspend the agreement was supported by Finland and Denmark, while the Czech Republic called for the temporary suspension of Spain’s membership.
Rome emphasized that Spanish citizens are exempt from additional checks upon arrival in Italy, as these extra measures apply only to non-EU residents; El País reported, however, that long lines and wait times have been observed at several arrival stations in recent days, with passengers arriving from Spain being directed to a separate line for screening.
Source: Proto Thema
