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Spain imposes border checks on Italy in migrant dispute
Spain announced on Friday it will introduce temporary border checks on travellers from Italy, retaliating after Rome suspended the Schengen visa-free deal with Spain following a mass migrant rush into Ceuta in…
The Story in Brief
Spain announced on Friday it will introduce temporary border checks on travellers from Italy, retaliating after Rome suspended the Schengen visa-free deal with Spain following a mass migrant rush into Ceuta in late July. Spain's interior ministry said the checks start at midnight on Saturday and last until September 7.
Italy's far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni rejected Spain's ultimatum to lift its own checks, saying it will not reconsider before August 15. Spain's foreign minister called the Italian move 'a torpedo fired at the hull of European unity'. Around 70,000 of the 72,000 people who entered Ceuta from Morocco have returned, but at least 80 deaths were confirmed by Spain, while Moroccan rights groups say the toll is at least 141.
The Indian Opinion
Both Madrid and Rome are playing to domestic galleries instead of solving the real problem. Italy frames its checks as national security, Spain calls them a torpedo to European unity, yet neither addresses why 72,000 people risked death crossing to Ceuta. The real test will be how the EU responds after August 15, when Italy says a second wave might come. If Meloni sticks to her position and Spain retaliates, European solidarity is the biggest casualty.
Sources (2): hindustantimes.com, ndtv.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
