{"id":462020,"date":"2026-08-07T17:19:28","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T15:19:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/2026\/08\/07\/ultimatum-della-spagna-allitalia-per-la-crisi-migratoria-a-ceuta-rivedere-revoca-schengen-ma-roma-non-ci-sta\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T17:52:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T15:52:04","slug":"spain-issues-an-ultimatum-to-italy-over-the-migration-crisis-in-ceuta-reconsider-the-suspension-of-schengen-but-rome-is-not-having-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/2026\/08\/07\/spain-issues-an-ultimatum-to-italy-over-the-migration-crisis-in-ceuta-reconsider-the-suspension-of-schengen-but-rome-is-not-having-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Spain issues an ultimatum to Italy over the migration crisis in Ceuta: \u201cReconsider the suspension of Schengen.\u201d But Rome is not having it"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brussels \u2013 An ultimatum to Rome: lift border controls with Spain by Sunday 9 August due to the migration crisis in Ceuta, otherwise Madrid will be forced to \u201ctake proportionate measures to protect the interests and dignity\u201d<\/strong> of its citizens. But Italy is not having any of it and has responded firmly: \u201cIt does not accept ultimatums or impositions from abroad\u201d<\/strong> when it comes to national security and border control. With just a few hours to go before the deadline set by Pedro S\u00e1nchez\u2019s government, Palazzo Chigi puts it in writing<\/a> that Rome has no intention of backing down on migration regulations as a result of the crisis in Ceuta<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The Italian response comes following the threat issued by Madrid, as reported by the Spanish newspaper El Mundo<\/em>, citing sources at Moncloa<\/a>, the seat of the Spanish Government. The S\u00e1nchez government is contesting Italy\u2019s decision to reintroduce temporary air and sea border controls with Spain<\/strong>, a measure notified to the European Commission and initially scheduled to remain in place until early September. <\/p>\n

According to Madrid, the checks have affected the travel plans of \u201cthousands of passengers\u201d and created \u201clegal uncertainty in the middle of the summer season.\u201d A measure described as \u201cunprecedented in recent history,\u201d<\/strong> adopted \u201cwithout warning, unilaterally and on flimsy grounds, which comply neither with the Schengen Borders Code nor with the truth.\u201d <\/p>\n

But Rome is pressing ahead. In a statement issued by Palazzo Chigi, the government makes it clear that it \u201chas no intention whatsoever of revising\u201d <\/strong>the decision to suspend the application of the Schengen Agreement for third-country nationals arriving from Spain, at least until 15 August and in any case until \u201csecurity and terrorism risks for Italy have been completely ruled out.\u201d <\/p>\n

This date is no coincidence. Indeed, on 15 August<\/strong>, explains the Italian government, a new wave of migrants<\/strong> is expected in Ceuta, as announced by the Spanish authorities themselves. And it is precisely the possibility of a repeat of the crisis which, according to Rome,  justifies maintaining the controls<\/strong>. Only when we are certain that there will be no security or terrorist risks for Italy, that there will be no new wave, and that there are no irregular migrants heading for European territory, will it be possible to review what has already been decided,\u201d Palazzo Chigi states.<\/p>\n

The clash between Rome and Madrid<\/h3>\n

\n

Tension between the two governments<\/a> had already erupted during the video conference of EU interior ministers<\/a>. Spanish Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska had described the Italian decision as \u201ccompletely pointless and disproportionate,\u201d contesting the link between the crisis in Ceuta and the risk of migrants entering the Schengen area<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

Italian Minister Matteo Piantedosi, on the other hand, had used  the European conference<\/a> to relaunch the Meloni government\u2019s approach to managing migration flows<\/a>. According to the Minister for the Interior, the crisis shows that the EU must stop \u201creacting to emergencies\u201d and instead focus on preventing departures in countries of origin<\/strong>, strengthening repatriation efforts and using the political and economic clout of the 27 Member States to secure concrete cooperation from third countries.<\/p>\n

The issue of the 72,000 arrivals in Ceuta<\/h3>\n

\n

For Spain, however, the very premise of the Italian decision does not hold water. Madrid continues to insist that none of the approximately 72,000 migrants that have entered Ceuta illegally<\/a> last week could, nor can, enter the Schengen area freely<\/strong>. The Spanish autonomous city, in fact, enjoys special status with regard to the area of free movement. Above all, the S\u00e1nchez government emphasises, \u201cvirtually all<\/strong>\u201d of those who had reached Ceuta have already returned to Morocco: according to figures provided by the Spanish Minister of the Interior, around 70,000 people had already left the enclave. Hence Madrid\u2019s question: why maintain border controls with Spain if people who have arrived in Ceuta cannot simply cross the border and enter the Schengen area? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Italy\u2019s response takes into account how the crisis might develop. Not only the possibility of a new wave of migration, but also the absence of security and terrorism risks<\/strong> and the certainty that there are no irregular migrants heading for European territory are cited as necessary conditions for revising the decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo prejudice against a friendly country\u201d<\/h3>\n

\n

Palazzo Chigi points out, however, that the decision does not constitute a hostile act towards Madrid. \u201cThis is without prejudice to a friendly country such as Spain<\/strong>,\u201d the statement emphasises, noting that similar measures have been adopted in the past by the Italian government\u2014for example, in relation to Slovenia\u2014and by other European governments in relation to Italy and Spain itself. Rome is therefore leaving the door open for dialogue. \u201cShould all these conditions cease to apply, Italy is ready to resume constructive dialogue with the Government in Madrid<\/strong>\u201d, Palazzo Chigi states.<\/p>\n

And there is one final point on which the Italian government wishes to clear up any misunderstandings: Spanish and European citizens are not directly affected by the measure<\/strong>. The government assures us that the Italian border authorities \u201cwill do everything possible to ensure maximum ease of travel\u201d for European travellers, who \u201care not affected by the reintroduction of air and sea border controls.\u201d <\/p>\n

Madrid had set Sunday as the deadline, leaving a glimmer of hope. \u201cWe trust that the European spirit, common sense and good faith will prevail<\/strong>,\u201d writes the Spanish government. Rome responds by indicating 15 August as the earliest possible date to review the decision, but only under specific conditions. And so, what began as a migration crisis on the border between Spain and Morocco now risks becoming a real political tug-of-war within the EU<\/a>, with the Schengen free movement area at the centre of a clash between two countries which, until a few days ago, were on the same side of the fence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Spanish government had given Italy until the end of Sunday 9 August to lift the temporary border controls it had reintroduced at its air and sea borders with Spain; Palazzo Chigi\u2019s negative response was not long in coming<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7896,"featured_media":461985,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard","override":[{"template":"1","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","show_comment_section":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"0","show_post_related":"1","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0","subtitle":""},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25712,25707],"tags":[35144,35232,29289,26064,35177,35190,25753,35174,27664,27709,26623,28056,26870],"class_list":["post-462020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-news","category-world-politics","tag-ceuta","tag-el-mundo","tag-free-circulation-en","tag-giorgia-meloni-en","tag-madrid","tag-matteo-piantedosi","tag-migrants-en-2","tag-ministri-dellinterno","tag-morocco-en","tag-pedro-sanchez-en","tag-roma-and","tag-area-schengen-en","tag-spain-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7896"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=462020"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462020\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":462021,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462020\/revisions\/462021"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/461985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=462020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=462020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=462020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}