Spain tightens Italy border checks amid migration dispute

Spain has resumed border checks on travellers arriving from Italy amid a growing disagreement between the two

Spain has resumed border checks on travellers arriving from Italy amid a growing disagreement between the two European countries over irregular migration.

Spanish authorities inspected around 200 passengers on the first day of the measures, which were introduced at the country’s six busiest airports. The Interior Ministry said 199 people arriving on 12 flights from Italy were checked at airports in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Bilbao, Alicante and Valencia.

The temporary controls began on Saturday and are scheduled to remain in place until September 7. The move follows Italy’s decision to introduce its own checks on travellers arriving from Spain.

Rome suspended the usual Schengen arrangements with Spain from August 1, saying the decision was linked to concerns over a sharp increase in irregular migration. Italian authorities said their measures would remain in place at least until August 15.

The dispute intensified after around 72,000 migrants reportedly reached Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta on July 30, prompting renewed concerns over migration pressures and border security.

Italy has stressed that its checks are targeted rather than a blanket restriction on European travellers. Officials said Spanish and other European Union citizens would not be affected by the measures, which focus mainly on non-EU nationals travelling from Spain by air or sea.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Rome hoped to remove the restrictions as soon as the perceived security risk had eased.

The latest developments have raised concerns about tensions within the European Union’s passport-free travel system. The Schengen Area allows people to move across 29 European countries without routine internal border checks, although individual member states can temporarily restore controls in response to security threats, public-order concerns or exceptional circumstances.