Italy and Spain Lift Their Border Checks on Each Other, Months After the Ceuta Crossing
Rome and Madrid agreed to end the mutual suspension of Schengen travel Meloni began in late July. Italy says it will share more security information. Breitbart's account uses charged language about Ceuta.
Italy and Spain have agreed to restore open-border travel between them, ending a standoff that began after the mass crossing into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Breitbart News reports.
The deal. Italy's Interior Ministry said Thursday that Prime Ministers Giorgia Meloni and Pedro Sánchez spoke by phone on the sidelines of a European Council meeting and agreed not to extend their suspensions of the Schengen agreement with each other. Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said the decision "will be accompanied by enhanced information sharing to ensure the full security of the Schengen Area."
How it started. Meloni suspended Schengen with Spain within hours of the late July Ceuta crossing, which Breitbart says involved tens of thousands of migrants from Morocco. Italy enforced air and sea checks on arrivals from Spain and renewed the suspension several times, most recently for seven days on Oct. 16. Spain answered with a reciprocal suspension. Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares called Italy's checks "absurd" and "shameless."
The result of the checks. Italian public broadcaster Rai reported that more than 180,000 people arriving from Spain were checked in the first month, and 31 were refused entry. Piantedosi said none of those refused had been involved in the Ceuta events.
What comes next. Rai described the move as the end of a period of tension, with both governments aiming to deepen cooperation on security and migration without new limits on free movement.
Note for readers: Breitbart calls the Ceuta crossing an "invasion." That is its word, not a legal finding. The refusal figures are Italy's and show the checks turned up no Ceuta link. We did not see the ministry statement itself.